Raheem Sterling: Gary Lineker tells Roy Hodgson and Brendan Rodgers to 'stop sniping' at each other as it will start to affect the players

The fallout from starting Sterling on the bench in Estonia has seen Hodgson deliver the latest jibe in a back-and-forth argument between him and the Liverpool manager

Raheem Sterling played 26 minutes in Tallinn (GETTY IMAGES)

Former England striker Gary Lineker has told Roy Hodgson and Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers to "stop sniping" over players.

Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling is at the centre of the latest club vs country controversy after he complained of tiredness ahead of England's Euro 2016 qualifier against Estonia on Sunday and was left out of the starting line-up.

England manager Hodgson has since questioned Liverpool's fitness regime, which is based on a "two-day recovery" system - while Rodgers was angry last month after striker Daniel Sturridge suffered a thigh injury in England training.

Lineker, second on the list of England's all-time goalscorers, tweeted: "It's time Roy Hodgson and Brendan Rodgers stopped sniping. It's at their player's expense."

Sterling played the first half of England's 5-0 victory over San Marino on Thursday and came on as a 64th-minute substitute in England's 1-0 win in Tallinn.

After the Estonia game, Hodgson has risked causing a further rift with Rodgers by criticising the two-day recovery method the Liverpool manager uses to try to keep Sterling and other pacy players fit.

Rodgers spoke of his frustration at Hodgson's refusal to adopt the two-day recovery method for Sturridge last month after he pulled a thigh muscle during a sprint at an England training session.

It is understood the Northern Irishman also gives Sterling two days off after games to aid his return to peak fitness.

But Hodgson says there is little evidence the programme benefits players' recovery times.

"Raheem might say it is something that is becoming ingrained in him and that he felt the need to talk about being tired more than he would normally do," Hodgson said.

"But we have never had any problems with that. I don't think there is a lot of medical evidence to support the 'two-day recovery'.

"So if you want to, you might want to research that one.

"Certainly, the Germans who you admire so much - they don't do it. That is for certain.

"I would expect players not to take it for granted that there will be two-day recoveries."

Hodgson questioned Liverpool's recovery programme (Getty Images)

Sterling responded on Twitter to those who had ridiculed him for asking to be rested just eight weeks into the season, saying "Excuse me for being human".

It is understood that England's medical staff will be contacting their counterparts at Liverpool this week to talk about Sterling's fitness and Hodgson himself will call Rodgers to discuss the matter.

"I think I should speak to Brendan, but it really is very simple and I am sure he understands that situation," Hodgson said.

"Raheem has played a lot of games recently and it is the first year in the Champions League for Liverpool for a while so the games have obviously been quite high-pressure games and I will tell him he looked a bit tired and I made the decision from that to play Adam Lallana.

Rodgers has shown concern for his players on international duty (Getty Images)

"But Brendan has been talking anyway about the pressures Raheem has been under and the fatigue that may have set in a little bit so I am pretty sure that he will be dealing over the next month with Raheem as he sees fair."

PA