Liverpool are commissioning a medical report on Daniel Sturridge’s history of similar injuries after learning the player will be sidelined for the rest of the year.

Brendan Rodgers believes the latest is the ninth injury involving Sturridge’s left thigh over the past few years and, though the England training regime was initially blamed for aggravating the condition at the start of the season, it is beginning to look as if there is a deeper problem.

“We reckon it’s his ninth injury on the same thing from previous clubs here and there,” the Liverpool manager said. “So there seems to be an underlying issue somewhere. Our medical team are looking into it, the latest scans show a slight tear just below where he had a previous injury.

“Daniel is very disappointed and so are we. It is hugely disappointing to be without a player of his quality. Most players you will find want to play through an injury to get on to the field and when the incident happened in training it was through quite an innocuous action. He just flicked the ball and instantly felt the pain, it wasn’t a shot or anything that looked as if it might be serious.”

Rodgers has been investigating the possibility of recalling Divock Origi from loan at Lille early but that could not happen until January and Liverpool would have to stump up an extra £3m for a striker they already own. “For the time being we just have to focus on the players we do have,” Rodgers said. “We have to make the best of what is available.

“You could say it presents an opportunity for the guys who have been on the sidelines for a while. We have an exciting period of games coming up, we have to ensure we go back to our basics and be really hard to beat, we need to be strong and aggressive. Most of all we want to make an impact in front of goal, now there’s an opportunity for some players who didn’t think they would get a chance.”

Rodgers must be thinking of Rickie Lambert, yet to score for Liverpool, and Fabio Borini, a player the club tried to offload in summer, when he talks of players on the sidelines. Mario Balotelli, who has had plenty of chances, is still without a league goal, though at least the Italian is fit for the game at Crystal Palace on Sunday following the hamstring injury he sustained on international duty last week.