Brendan Rodgers today confirmed Daniel Sturridge is likely to be out of action until September following surgery on his hip this week.

The striker underwent an operation in the United States on Tuesday and is now set to embark upon a rehabilitation period that will seem him sidelined until the opening weeks of next season.

Rodgers told journalists at Melwood: "We anticipate Daniel will be back hopefully to train around about September time.

"It's a period of time out, but we're hopeful the problems and issues he's had have been resolved with the operation. Now he can recover and hopefully get back as quick as he possibly can.

"We're anticipating it's going to be around September before he can actually start training and then it's about getting his fitness up."

Injuries have meant Sturridge has made just 18 appearances this season.

Liverpool are hopeful, however, this week's operation will prove crucial in enhancing the 25-year-old's long-term fitness.

Rodgers said: "With Daniel, unfortunately for him and his career, it's been ongoing in terms of injuries. He's had a number of issues this season which aren't related to the operation he's had.

"We feel now, hopefully this can cure a lot of the problems he's had and I'm sure he'll work over the coming months to get back fit.

"Everyone has seen that when he is fit and playing, he's an outstanding player. He has been a big miss to us this season, but let's hope he can get back fit and help contribute for the club.

"Once he's fully fit, we know what he can produce. If he's at that level of fitness, he can be a key player for us."

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With Sturridge set to miss Liverpool's pre-season programme, Rodgers admits the No.15 will take a period of time to build up his match sharpness once he returns to training in September.

He added: "He's looking to get back into training around that time and then of course it's not just about your fitness then - it's about gaining your football fitness and that takes a bit of time. The important thing will be letting him recover.

"He'll work hard in his rehab with the medical team here. We've had great support from our owners in terms of him being able to go to some of the world's leading specialists in America. He'll come back and work very hard I'm sure to get back fit and the sooner the better for us."

Elsewhere on the injury front, Rodgers expects a similar squad to the one that faced Queens Park Rangers last weekend to make the trip to Chelsea on Sunday.

Mario Balotelli could return, however, having returned to training.

"The squad is pretty much the same," confirmed the manager. "Sakho won't be available and Mario has trained the last couple of days and we'll see how he is for the weekend."