by Dave Usher for ESPN
Injuries to Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson sustained on international duty with England left Liverpool fans cursing England head coach Roy Hodgson this past week. Well, OK, cursing him even more than usual.
Thankfully Henderson's injury scare appears to have been short lived as he played the full 90 minutes of England's 2-0 win in Switzerland on Monday night. Still, having been sent for a scan the day before the game clearly indicates there was a problem there, and if he suffers any after-effects from that (as Sturridge did last season when Hodgson forced him to play 90 minutes when carrying an injury) then Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will have every right to feel aggrieved with the England boss.
Barring any reaction Henderson will presumably now be available to face Aston Villa at Anfield this Saturday, but Sturridge is set for a few weeks on the sidelines. It's a setback Rodgers could certainly have done without so early into the new season, but on the bright side at least he's much better prepared for it than he would have been six months ago.
Liverpool invested heavily in recruiting eight players over the summer. All eight were never going straight into a first eleven that came within two points of winning the title last season; the objective was to provide greater depth and to give Rodgers more options when injuries inevitably occur.
The demands of attempting to compete on four fronts made a larger squad a necessity, but the rigours of playing for Hodgson appear to be the biggest danger to the health and well being of some members of the Liverpool squad. Oh for the glory days of 1986 when the Reds clinched the League and FA Cup double without a single Englishman in the side that beat Everton at Wembley!
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