Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling has revealed that he is feeling fully fit again in time for the new Premier League season.
The 18-year-old has not played a competitive game for the Reds since March because of a thigh injury, but insists that he is feeling sharp again after an encouraging pre-season.
"I've got to be really professional and careful but I am over it now and I'm feeling 100%," Sterling told the Liverpool Echo. "I did it training with the under-21s. I got a hit on the thigh. I got some bruising there and didn't really think anything about it, but then there was some internal bleeding and it started to get solid.
"Around December the pain started and it affected my performances. I think the dip in my form was purely down to my injury. I just wasn't as sharp as I had been before. I was like a snail when I got the ball.
"The injury slowed me down and mentally I was tired from playing so many games. As a young player, I understand you need to be brought out of the team sometimes. I had played a lot of games by that point. It's a chronic injury so it's one where even though I'm back, I need to keep having treatment on it and looking after it."
Sterling is likely to play some part in Liverpool's game against a Thailand XI later this morning.
Paul Gorst
