Sturridge broke down with thigh injury in training on TuesdayStriker has made only three appearances for club this term

Liverpool are resigned to being without Daniel Sturridge until the new year after scans confirmed he has suffered his second thigh strain of an injury-blighted season. The striker’s poor fitness record may prompt Brendan Rodgers to intensify efforts to bring Divock Origi from Lille when the transfer window reopens in January.

The 25-year-old Sturridge pulled up while training for what was scheduled to be his return from a 10-week lay-off against Crystal Palace and his worst fears were realised on Wednesday. Test results revealed a fresh strain in the thigh he damaged this season and though unrelated to the injury that he sustained with England on 5 September, a similar recovery period is now anticipated.

Sturridge missed six weeks with the first thigh strain. Liverpool have not put a time-frame on his latest absence but expect him to require up to six further weeks to recover, meaning the source of 22 Premier League goals last season is unlikely to play again in 2014.

Liverpool confirmed the situation in a statement: “Scans have revealed Daniel Sturridge has sustained a new thigh injury. The player will remain unavailable for selection but will be monitored and assessed during his recovery.”

The diagnosis represents a major setback for the England international and the Liverpool manager, with the team toiling in the absence of last season’s strike partnership of Sturridge and Luis Suárez and their alternatives – Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini – yet to score in a combined total of 888 minutes of Premier League football.

Liverpool were unable to tempt Alexis Sánchez to Anfield in the summer and a proposed deal for Loïc Rémy collapsed on medical grounds. The Belgium international Origi was signed for £9.8m from Lille, albeit on the condition he remained on loan with the French club this season.

Liverpool are now willing to pay extra to bring the Origi move forward to January and while Lille have offered no encouragement on that score so far, Sturridge’s latest setback may encourage further negotiations for the 19-year-old.

“He has everything – the speed, the profile and he can play now – but our deal was that we couldn’t bring him in now,” Rodgers said recently. “That was unfortunate because he can run in behind, he can keep the ball and he can press but that was the deal.”

Liverpool are currently 11th in the Premier League and must beat Ludogorets Razgrad in Sofia next week to preserve their chances of progressing in the Champions League. Should they lose there or against Basel on 9 December, their Champions League campaign will be over before Sturridge has featured in it.

Sturridge’s continued absence leaves Liverpool increasingly reliant on Balotelli, who has struggled to integrate into Rodgers’ team and withdrew from the recent Italy squad with a hamstring problem, and on the manager finding a solution to his faltering attack.

Last season’s Premier League runners-up have not scored in their last three European fixtures and Rodgers has cited the loss of Sturridge as a major disruption. “Once we lose that movement and speed of Sturridge – and the link-up of other people within that – that has broken the dynamic a little bit for us,” said the Liverpool manager following the defeat by Basel in October.

Sturridge has not played for Liverpool since the 3-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on 31 August. He suffered a thigh strain that necessitated a six week lay-off while training with England later that week and then tore a calf muscle on his return to full training with Liverpool. The forward had missed 10 weeks in total before his latest setback, and 14 of Liverpool’s 17 games.

Overall, since arriving at Anfield from Chelsea for £12m in January 2013, the England international has been fit for 46 of 66 league games for Liverpool. Rodgers’ side have scored 2.5 goals per Premier League game with Sturridge, 1.9 goals per game without, collected 2.1 points per game with the striker compared to 1.6 points without, and won 60.9% of matches in which he was involved compared to 50% without.

Sturridge’s track record does not bode well for a rapid recovery. Another six week lay-off would result in him missing Premier League games against Crystal Palace on Sunday, Stoke City, Leicester City, Sunderland, Manchester United, Arsenal, Burnley and Swansea City. He will also miss the remaining Champions League group matches against Ludogorets and Basel plus the Capital One Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth.

The former Manchester City and Chelsea forward’s persistent injury problems, issues that he claimed recently were hereditary, may tempt Liverpool back into the transfer market in January despite having spent almost £120m to compensate for Suárez’s departure to Barcelona in the summer.

However, their options are likely to be limited, with Rodgers conceding earlier this season that he took a “calculated risk” on paying Milan £16m for Balotelli as the Italy international was the last viable option available.