Divock Origi wont be back, says Rodgers

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has ruled out the possibility of recalling Divock Origi from his loan spell at Lille during January. The Belgian international was signed by Liverpool for £ 10 million in the summer, but he was immediately loaned out back to the French club as part of the deal.

Liverpool signed Mario Balotelli as the permanent replacement for £ 16 million, but the Italian has been a huge disappointment as he is yet to score in the Premier League in nine appearances. Rodgers was placing his cards on an early return for Daniel Sturridge, who has not played for the club since September due to injuries.

The 25-year-old has suffered setbacks in his return from injury and he is not expected to return until the early 2015. This major blow is compounded by the fact that none of the Liverpool strikers appear to be capable of ending the goal drought anytime soon.

As a result, the talk of Origi being recalled earlier than schedule has been mentioned. This would cost Liverpool a certain sum of money, but it would be negligible compared to make a new permanent signing. Rodgers, though, says that the plan is to keepOrigi at Lille for the rest of the season in order to aid his development.

“We signed [Origi] last summer on agreement he had to stay at Lille. That was one of main reasons we were able to sign him. As far as I’m concerned, that’s still case with Origi,” said Rodgers speaking ahead of the away match against Crystal Palace. “Liverpool Football Club today confirmed scans have revealed Daniel Sturridge has sustained a new thigh injury.The player will remain unavailable for selection but will be monitored and assessed during his recovery,” read a statement from Liverpool after monitoring Sturridge over the last few days.