Daniel Sturridge injury: Liverpool striker ruled out for 'at least three weeks' as Reds manager Brendan Rodgers counts his losses

Liverpool will also be without Emre Can and Joe Allen as the Reds squad comes off worse for wear from the international break

Daniel Sturridge is an injury doubt for England for their match against Switzerland (Getty Images)

Daniel Sturridge’s thigh strain is worse than first feared and could keep him out of action until the beginning of October after reports suggested he would be sidelined for three weeks rather than the initial two predicted by medical staff.

Sturridge picked up the injury while training with England during the international break, ruling him out of England’s triumphant trip to Switzerland on Monday night. While Sturridge returned to Anfield for further treatment, his replacement Danny Welbeck seized his chance for the Three Lions as he bagged both goals in the 2-0 victory in Basel, and Sturridge appears to have a battle on his hands to regain his England shirt once he returns to fitness.

The more immediate concern for the 25-year-old though is that he is set to miss a large chunk of action for the Reds, including the first Merseyside derby of the season. Liverpool are due to face fierce rivals Everton on 27 September, but Sturridge will have already missed Premier League ties against Aston Villa and West Ham as well as the opening Champions League tie with Ludogorets and the League Cup clash against Middlesbrough.

But the news that Sturridge will miss longer than expected puts him at risk of missing the second Champions League Group B encounter – another trip to Switzerland to face FC Basel – as well as the league visit of West Brom on 4 October.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s evening kick-off against Villa on Saturday, Rodgers confirmed that Sturridge would be out of contention for “at least three weeks”.

Can suffered an injury during pre-season and his latest knock will rule him out for six weeks (Getty Images)

Rodgers also confirmed that new signing Emre Can injured his ankle while playing for Germany’s Under-21’s and faces up to six weeks on the sidelines having yet to start a competitive match since completing a £10m move to Anfield.

The loss of Can compounds the problems facing Rodgers in the centre of midfield as he also confirmed Joe Allen will also miss this weekend’s match with a knee injury, although he refused to put a timescale on the former Swansea star’s predicted return.