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Stewart Downing has hailed the return of Daniel Sturridge as the Liverpool FC striker prepares to make his comeback in tomorrow’s final friendly against Celtic in Dublin.

The £12million man is expected to feature in the 50,000 sell-out clash at the Aviva Stadium after recovering from the ankle injury he suffered on England duty back in May.

Sturridge was passed fit to get back involved in full training earlier this week and Downing admits his availability is timely with the Premier League opener against Stoke City just eight days away.

“Daniel has looked really sharp and it’s great to see him back training again,” Downing said.

“Whatever happens with Luis Suarez, he’s suspended for the first six matches anyway so Daniel is going to be very important for us.

“Hopefully he can get some minutes against Celtic and then be ready for the Stoke game. It’s a big plus for us to have him back fit before the start of the season.”

Sturridge netted 11 goals in 16 appearances following his January move from Chelsea and Downing says the England international gave the Reds a new attacking dimension.

“The gaffer brought him in at a good time,” Downing said.

“We needed an injection of goals and he provided that.

“He settled in very quickly and I think he really enjoyed playing every week after being on the fringes down at Chelsea.

“He’s got great ability, pace and strength.

“He causes defenders a lot of problems and if he carries on where he left off last season we’ll be delighted.”

After being left out of the two previous friendlies, Downing played the opening 45 minutes of Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Valerenga in Oslo.

He produced an impressive display down the right flank and is looking to force his way back into boss Brendan Rodgers’s plans.

Downing was recently informed he could leave for a fee of around £5million but at the moment he’s focused on staying put and fighting for his place.

“At a club like Liverpool you need players competing for a shirt,” he said.

“I didn’t think we really had that last season as we were a bit short on numbers.

“But this season there is real competition, especially going forward, and hopefully that can help push us on a bit.

“The manager said he wanted to sign players who would bring more goals to the group and both Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto have done well so far.

“Then there’s Sturridge, Fabio Borini, Raheem Sterling, Jordon Ibe and myself. There’s also Luis and obviously the club have put a bid in for Diego Costa as well.

“Of course people aren’t happy if they aren’t playing but having competition keeps everyone on their toes.”