Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that Daniel Sturridge will be "very important" for his side during the closing stages of the season.

The 27-year-old has suffered another injury-plagued campaign but recently returned to full training having been sidelined since February first through illness and then with a hip problem.

It is a timely return for the England international after Sadio Mane picked up a suspected season-ending knee injury during the Merseyside derby win over Everton, and Klopp is looking forward to having the striker back available.

"Unfortunately, Daniel has been out for four or five weeks. Managing players is always a challenge. My job is difficult. I can't say all the time what players want to hear," he told reporters.

"But it's not more of a challenge with Daniel than with other players. Unfortunately we couldn't use him in this second part of the season as much as we needed. But now he's back and everything is good for me. He will be very important.

"I saw his rehab training and he looked really fresh and sharp. On Monday he was team training but it was second day recovery for all the boys and he was part of that. He looked good. He's very optimistic about the situation and we will see. It's good news for us, it's not just bad news with Sadio being out."

Sturridge has been limited to just five Premier League starts this season.