The former Chelsea striker is set to be out until well into the new year after rolling over on his ankle in training on Friday, interrupting his partnership with Luis Suarez

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that striker Daniel Sturridge will be sidelined for up to eight weeks with an ankle injury.

The England international rolled over on his ankle in training on Friday, causing it to sprain, and was rated as touch-and-go ahead of Sunday’s clash with Hull City but is now not set to return until after the start of the new year.

The forward was forced to have scans after limping away with the injury as Liverpool medical staff could not determine the extent of the damage caused. The 24-year-old’s absence saw Luis Suarez start on his own up front against the Tigers.

“Daniel is probably going to be out six-to-eight weeks,” Rodgers told Sky Sports. “It was something we thought was never going to be as serious as that, to be honest.

“He slipped over in training and we thought initially it was his toe. He got brought inside straight away and he was taken for a scan straight away and it showed he’d actually got a ligament strain.

“It’s a big blow for us because he’s been brilliant since he’s come in. We’ve played a few systems this year, which has been brilliant, and it’s given me the flexibility to change it around. It’s about the players and we’ve got some good ones to come in.”

Sturridge is Liverpool’s top scorer so far this season, netting 11 goals in 14 games, and his partnership with Suarez has yielded 20 in total. The rest of the Reds squad put together have just seven to their names.

The Christmas period sees a busy and challenging schedule for Brendan Rodgers’s side, with trips to Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea before the year is up.