London – Liverpool's Spanish defender Jose Enrique will probably need surgery on a long-standing knee injury, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Thursday ahead of the 221st derby against Everton.
Enrique has missed the last four matches having failed to completely recover from the injury picked up earlier in the season in a League Cup tie.
“We're just waiting for clarification on his injury, but it looks like he'll probably need a small operation,” Rodgers told a press conference on Thursday.
“It's disappointing because he has been out for a couple of months and we've tried various ways to get him back fit. But he's still in pain.”
Striker Daniel Sturridge will face a late fitness test before Saturday's lunchtime kickoff at Goodison Park after he played 90 minutes for England against Germany on Tuesday despite pain from a dead leg.
Rodgers said defender Kolo Toure was back in contention to start after missing the club's last game, and that Steven Gerrard was fully fit despite needing an injection for a hip complaint ahead of England's defeat by Germany. – Reuters