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England boss Roy Hodgson has denied speculation that he does not get along well with his Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers.

The duo have been exchanging words over the fitness of striker Daniel Sturridge. It is yet another club versus country row, but it appears that Rodgers is winning this specific battle. Sturridge is unlikely to be included in the England squad for the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers. The 25-year-old first suffered a major injury this season when he was with the national team. He is yet to feature for Liverpool or England since then.

Liverpool will be taking on Everton in an important Merseyside derby this weekend, but Hodgson says that he does not expect Sturridge to feature in this match. Rodgers has been speaking recently about getting Sturridge back to full fitness. He spoke with confidence that the former Chelsea man will be able to feature against Everton, but that is now looking highly unlikely since it is learnt that he has had a setback in his rehabilitation. The forward has played in only three league matches this campaign. His absence has been felt on the pitch with Liverpool unable to get goals on a regular basis.

Sturridge and Luis Suarez were the important source of goals for the club last season. “There has been no question of manoeuvring on Liverpool’s part or our part. It is simply an unfortunate fact that we were hoping he would recover in time. He hasn’t and that is a great blow to us and a blow to Liverpool and for the player because he was very anxious to be a part of these two games. Unfortunately injuries happen and we all accept it. So there are no problems or conflict there at all,” said Hodgson. England have started the Euro 2016 qualifiers in excellent form.