Football
John Brewin, ESPN FC 7y

Slaven Bilic cites injuries as reason for pause regarding Daniel Sturridge

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has distanced his club from transfer links with Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge.

The England forward is struggling to win a starting place under Jurgen Klopp and has lately been sidelined with a calf problem which has ruled him out of Sunday's meeting between the two clubs.

Klopp on Friday said he had "no idea" when Sturridge will return to Liverpool's squad and Bilic pinpointed the 27-year-old's fitness issues as problematic.

"He is a good player, one of the biggest talents if you can call him a talent any more," Bilic told reporters at the Hammers' Rush Green training complex. "The only thing that stopped him being a regular in the club and the national team, fulfil his potential, are injuries. The talent is there. Finishing, everything is great, apart from one thing. But that is the most important thing."

Last week, Sturridge was linked with a January loan move to West Ham, but Bilic was non-committal. He said: "Even last year when every time he was not available and his name was in the papers, I think all the clubs were thinking about Sturridge because he is that kind of player.

"But 50 times in five years, is that enough?" Bilic said, referring to Sturridge's appearance record.

Sturridge has featured in nine Premier League matches this season, starting four. Last season, as he suffered a knee problem, he made just 14 Premier League appearances, and in the 2014-15 campaign, with repeated muscle problems, two fewer with 12.

Bilic continued: "His only problem is as I said. I don't know him in person, I don't know his dedication to his job, or whatever but unfortunately for England and for Liverpool, he is injured and that is his problem."

West Ham's current No. 9, Andy Carroll, has suffered his own injury woes and has only just returned to Bilic's squad following a hip problem, scoring a consolation goal in last week's 5-1 loss to Arsenal.

Bilic said: "The last game he played before the Arsenal game was the game in Romania [a Europa League tie with Astra Giurgiu], that was at the beginning of the season.

"We have three games [against Liverpool, Burnley on Wednesday and Hull next Saturday] and we need him in all three of him but we can't be that greedy. I would call it naive to expect, or to hope, that he would last three games, 90 minutes, in the space of one week although he feels good and fit and everything. But we're going to use him, almost definitely, in all three of them but is he going to start on Sunday? I don't know"

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