Perth Glory coach Richard Garcia says he will continue to play Daniel Sturridge off the bench until the star striker is able to train fully with the club.
Sturridge made a nine-minute cameo in Saturday night’s 1-1 draw against Adelaide at HBF Park, touching the ball just twice in a low key A-League Men debut.
The former Liverpool and Chelsea star had only five days’ training under his belt in the lead-up to the game following his two-week stint in hotel quarantine.
Sturridge has a history of injuries, and Garcia wants to build up the prized signing in a slow and steady fashion rather than risk the former England international breaking down.
That patient approach means Sturridge is unlikely to be thrust into the starting line-up any time soon.
“We need to get him back into full training as quickly as possible, that’s probably the first step,” Garcia said.
“(We need) to make sure he can handle the load … so that he can get minutes here and there off the bench before he plays a full game.
“It’s about the group. He’s one of the group, and he’ll play his part. And he can have a fantastic impact off the bench until he is ready.”
When asked how long he expects it will take for Sturridge to be training fully, Garcia replied: “However long it takes to get him there.”
A bumper crowd of 17,198 turned up to watch Sturridge’s debut, but Glory will now be on the road until January.
Their arduous stretch away from home starts with an FFA Cup match against Melbourne Victory in Adelaide on Wednesday, before backing up for an ALM match against Western United at AAMI Park on Friday.
The short turnaround means Garcia will effectively send a squad full of youthful and fringe players for the FFA Cup fixture, so that his first-choice players will be fit for the match against Western United.
Glory are sweating on the fitness of Andy Keogh after the veteran striker injured a calf early in the second half against Adelaide.
Adelaide recruit Nick Ansell injured his groin and is in doubt for Saturday’s home clash with Melbourne City.
Adelaide coach Carl Veart felt his team were unlucky not to come away with the three points against Glory after creating a glut of chances.
“I thought our boys were tremendous,” Veart said.
“The style of football they played is what we want. We created some great opportunities. We had control of the game for large parts of the game.”
