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After a long, confusing and muddied month, a glimmer of hope for Daniel Sturridge; back in training, and back in contention for Jurgen Klopp.

It is just over a month since the striker sustained a knee injury after a training ground collision with Jordon Ibe. On the surface, it seemed trivial. As it often has become with Sturridge, it transpired to be a little more serious than anticipated.

After Klopp’s first game, away to Tottenham, the German spoke of the missing striker. “I have known Daniel now for one week, and for six days he was perfect in training,” he said. “Everything we did he was full of power, skills. He was outstanding.

“He did so many good things and then he got this contact with Ibe.

“In another situation I would have talked to him and said, ‘please try.’ But we can’t in a week of two ACL injuries. Come on.”

Context is required. In the week leading up to the trip to White Hart Lane, Klopp had lost Danny Ings to a long-term knee injury. Christian Benteke was also unable to take part due to his own injury problems. Divock Origi was the only fit striker at his disposal.

The Sturridge absence made sense. A setback, nothing more. He had looked good upon his return to the side in September, making three appearances – two from the start. This, it seemed, was just one of the precautions managers have to take with Sturridge.

One month on, seven games later, there has still been no sign of the 26-year-old. Klopp would be asked routinely about the whereabouts of his forward. “Soon, but soon is relative,” came his most recent reply, the manager understandably becoming wary of giving weekly fitness updates.

Perhaps the questions will subside a little now. Sturridge has trained fully with the squad at Melwood, and will now be carefully monitored by the club’s medical staff throughout the remainder of the week.

Though no decision has been made, Manchester City on Saturday could come too soon. History would suggest so, as the protocol in these sort of situations is to give the player as much time as required to return to full fitness; to ease them back. A gentle nudge, not a violent shove.

Klopp has the luxury of doing that, certainly more than his predecessor Brendan Rodgers, who needed Sturridge’s goals to save his job. There is no rush for the new man in charge.

Maybe there should be. Maybe the focus should be to get Sturridge ready for the first team as soon as possible.

Why Sturridge should be rushed back

The benefits are obvious. Liverpool need goals. Benteke needs a partner. Sturridge solves both these problems with one wriggle of the arms. The Reds have scored more than once in just two league games this season, one of those – Aston Villa at Anfield – directly as a result of two Sturridge strikes.

There is another incentive, of course. Sooner or later, Klopp has to make a judgement on his striker. In truth, it has to be sooner.

The England international has been in a continuous cycle for over 18 months. Play, get injured, return, excite everybody about the possibilities, get injured. The highs are evident, but the lows are frustratingly inevitable.

It’s a cycle that must break, somehow. Liverpool thought they had found the root of the problems during his last prolonged absence, and while his latest knock is not related to those long-standing problems, it has been another blow to the side.

Of the club’s last 47 league games, Sturridge has completed 90 minutes in just three. That is not a sustainable record, and it cannot go on.

This is not new information, of course, but there is a new manager in the dugout. He continues to assess his squad, a task made more difficult by the high-profile absentees, a mantle not held by Sturridge alone. Jordan Henderson continues to work hard towards recovery, but is not as far as the striker with that.

Klopp could ease Sturridge back in. Give him 15 minutes here, half an hour there. Gradually build him up, and unleash him over the Christmas period.

The problem, however, comes if he cannot remain fit. Another month of planning with Sturridge, another disappointment to follow.

It will hopefully not come to that, but Klopp cannot be in the same position as he is now next month; wondering, deliberating, just what he has at his disposal up front.

When Sturridge is fit, he should play. He should not be run into the ground, and long-term fitness should not be risked. But the Liverpool boss has to know, and know soon, just what Sturridge can be for him.

A striker of his quality is the sort a team can be build around. He is quick, intelligent in his movement, skilful and – most importantly – can finish. Forty-two goals in 70 appearances, a strike-rate hardly bettered this side of the war. The prospect of him pairing up with Benteke is a salivating one.

Trusting Sturridge is the biggest point

Until Klopp can do that, he must be able to trust the no.15, and be able to count on the sort of fitness he displayed in the 2013-14 campaign. No surprise, perhaps, the Reds mounted a serious title challenge when their striking options were – largely – available throughout the season.

There is a belief Sturridge’s fitness, and therefore his presence, should just be considered a bonus for Liverpool.

That isn’t how Klopp will want to prepare his team; nor should it be. Though he is a flexible coach, transplanting a player as exciting as Sturridge into the team makes a tough task even more difficult.

He needs to know if Sturridge is going to remain fit this time, at least in the medium-term. Because of that, Liverpool should not ease him back in gently, but give their new man an opportunity to plan with or without him.

Deadlines are futile, but knowledge by January would be welcome, as it could dictate some movement in the transfer market.

The only way Klopp will know for sure is to get the striker playing, regularly, once again. If he stays fit, he has a potentially world class forward on his hands.

If not, a bonus is all he can be. Given his undoubted talent, what a shame for Klopp. What a shame for Liverpool. What a shame for Sturridge.

Klopp will remain positive, however. Hopefully that proves infectious. Hopefully Sturridge will turn the Anfield turf into a dancefloor once again – and on a regular basis.