Sturridge suffers calf injury in training, will miss another 2-4 weeks

So much for the excitement about Daniel Sturridge's impending return.

The Liverpool striker, who has been sidelined since early September after picking up a thigh strain while away on international duty, was nearing a return to full fitness, and there were suggestions that he may feature in Saturday's contest against Queens Park Rangers.

Instead, a calf injury suffered in training will keep the 25-year-old out of action for another few weeks.

"Daniel has pulled his calf," said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers. "He's looking at being out for another two to four weeks.

"It's a big blow as we were looking forward to welcoming Daniel back. He has worked tirelessly.

"But we have other players training hard and working hard and we will turn to them. It's why we bulked up the squad in the summer."

The news comes as a massive blow to a Liverpool squad that has looked incapable of crafting quality chances without the striker in the lineup. And with two Champions League matches against Real Madrid on the horizon, the timing couldn't really be much worse either.