The England international made substitute appearances against West Ham and Bolton Wanderers following his lengthy injury absence though he is still building up his fitness

Daniel Sturridge is pushing to make his return to Liverpool’s starting XI in Saturday’s Merseyside derby against Everton, Brendan Rodgers has revealed.

The England striker spent five months on the sidelines with calf and thigh injuries before making a goalscoring comeback as a substitute against West Ham last week.

Another cameo appearance in the midweek FA Cup win at Bolton Wanderers followed, as Sturridge ramps up his recovery.

Sturridge has six goals in nine career appearances against Liverpool’s local rivals, including three in three derby outings – he has not scored more against any other team.

That impressive form could tempt Rodgers into throwing his star striker in from the start, but the Ulsterman remains wary over his fitness.

“Every player wants to play, not just Daniel,” Rodgers said. “You go into each game and every player that gets paid here at the football club wants to play.

“Daniel is coming along very well. It’s not that he won’t start, but we need to analyse that over the next couple of days. We shall see.”