The England boss has named the Liverpool forward in his starting line-up and fully expects him to be able to feature despite missing the Chile defeat with a hip injury

England manager Roy Hodgson is confident that striker Daniel Sturridge will be fit to start Tuesday’s friendly against Germany at Wembley, but says he will not play the full 90 minutes.

The Liverpool man missed Friday’s 2-0 loss to Chile with a hip problem but has been named in the Three Lions’ intended line-up for the game.

While the 66-year-old expects to be able to field his first-choice XI, Jermain Defoe and Rickie Lambert have been kept on standby should the in-form forward fail late tests.

“[The injury] has not been a great problem for Liverpool. The injury occurred two-and-a-half weeks ago and he played the full game [against Fulham] last week,” Hodgson told reporters.

“He didn’t play on Friday for us because he was complaining about the injury but I’m entitled to think and believe that the injury is no worse than it was when he last played for Liverpool against Fulham.

“The doctors tell me he’s fit enough to play and I will expect him to play the amount I think I need to see him.

“It won’t be 90 minutes – not because I don’t think he’s capable of playing 90 minutes but because I’ve got Rickie Lambert, who was injured and couldn’t play on Friday, who I want to see on the field. Then I will have seen Defoe, Lambert and Sturridge [over the two games].”

Sturridge has been in emphatic form for Liverpool this season, scoring eight goals in 11 games for the Reds as he has struck up a formidable partnership with Luis Suarez.

The Liverpool man praised the mix of youth and experience in the current national set-up and is confident that their 4-1 defeat at World Cup 2010 will not be repeated on Tuesday

England captain Steven Gerrard believes that the Three Lions are a much better side now than the last time they met Germany.

The two nations last met in 2010, when the Germans thrashed their below-par opponents 4-1 in Bloemfontein to knock them out of the World Cup, but the Liverpool star is confident that such a performance will never happen again ahead of Tuesday’s friendly at Wembley.

“I would say we’re better now,” he told the press. “The reason I say that is I feel that, if we were to meet Germany tomorrow in a World Cup situation, I don’t think we’d leave the pitch having been beaten 4-1.

“I do feel we are a lot stronger. There is a good mix of youth and experience in the squad at the moment. We are all moving forward and improving all the time.”

Gerrard was also involved when England humiliated Germany 5-1 in Munich in 2001, grabbing the goal which put Sven-Goren Eriksson’s men into the lead, but sees both matches as irrelevant to the latest match-up.

“What happened in 2001 and 2010, whenever it was, it’s not going to have any impact on this result,” he continued. “It’s a different game.

“I don’t watch defeats and I didn’t really watch the 5-1 game, either. I always try to look to the future.

“I’ve never gone into a game scared. I’ve always gone in with the idea of it being a great opportunity to be the underdog for a change and that the underdog can come out on top.”

The midfielder humbly admitted that he cannot quite believe that he is set to make it to 108 international caps – the same tally as the legendary centre-half

England captain Steven Gerrard says he is “slightly embarrassed” by the prospect of equalling the number of international appearances made by Bobby Moore in Tuesday’s meeting with Germany at Wembley.

Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson has named the Liverpool midfielder in his likely starting XI and Gerrard’s 108th international appearance would take him not only level with World Cup-winning captain Moore, but also within 17 appearances of the all-time record currently held by Peter Shilton.

“I’m really humbled and flattered to get to 108 caps alongside Bobby Moore,” the 33-year-old told reporters. “To equal his record is a fantastic achievement; my family and I are very proud.

“I’m very proud and slightly embarrassed as well – you are talking about a World Cup winner and an iconic figure, someone who was a hero to everyone in the country.”

Gerrard, though, was keen not to let his own milestone overshadow the team’s preparations for Tuesday’s showpiece game and was not shy of praising the strength in depth of Joachim Low’s squad.

“For me, the important thing is to try to get the right result against Germany,” he added. “Then I can look back on [the appearance] with fond memories.

“Every time you play against Germany you want to win the game. I don’t think tomorrow is about revenge, or trying to put right what went wrong [in the 2010 World Cup]. We want to win the game, keep trying to improve and try to build on the recent performances against Montenegro and Poland.

“They have got a crop of very young, attacking, exciting players who people like watching. I’ve been watching a lot of their players in the Champions League this year. Where they have strengthened is that they have got more options, maybe two top players in every position.”

Another player named by Hodgson as part of his starting XI was Gerrard’s club-mate Daniel Sturridge, whose fine form has barely lapsed since his January move to Liverpool and currently sits joint-top of the Premier League’s goalscoring charts with eight goals from 10 appearances.

Gerrard, having worked closely with Sturridge with both Liverpool and England, was eager to talk up the striker’s ability and believes it is only a matter of time before he is widely recognised as a top-level forward.

“I was surprised Chelsea let him go,” he admitted. “I had seen flashes of Daniel at Manchester City and also Chelsea and really liked what I saw.

“But now I have worked with him at close quarters on a daily basis, in the games for Liverpool and England, I’m a huge fan.

“The stage is set for Daniel to go and prove to everyone that he is a top-class forward. He’s certainly got the talent and ability to do it.”