The Anfield stalwart is set to hang up his boots at the end of the season, and the England striker says the club won’t be the same without the legendary defender

Daniel Sturridge has praised Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher and says his iminent retirement will be a massive loss for the club.

Despite only being at Anfield for four months, the 23-year-old striker says Carragher’s re-emergence in the first team since January has been a huge boost for the club and says he’ll be missed on and off the field.

Liverpool have kept seven clean sheets since the 35-year-old forced his way back into the reckoning and the Anfield legend’s perforrmances have gone some way in ensuring that record happened.

“He’s a very experienced player who’s been at this club for many, many years,” Sturridge told the club’s official website.

“He’ll be missed behind the scenes as well as on the football field. He’s a great man as well as a great player.

“We wish him all the best when he moves onto his new job.”

One of the seven clean sheets took place in Sunday’s Merseyside derby, and Sturridge says that a 0-0 draw was probably a fair result.

“It was a really tight game – they defended well, we defended well,” he said. “There weren’t many great chances. I had a couple, I think Stevie had a couple of shots as well. It was a really close game and it was probably a fair result in the end.

“It was a really high tempo, and a tense game – as expected.”