Liverpool’s Suarez allays injury fears

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez has allayed any injury fears after withdrawing from international duty this week. The 24-year-old was substituted in the 2-0 win over Sunderland on Sunday soon after scoring a brilliant individual goal.

It was initially thought the Uruguay international had a groin injury, but it may have been linked to a back problem.

Either way, it was enough for Suarez to pull out of the Uruguay squad preparing for today’s match against Estonia and next Tuesday’s friendly with the Republic of Ireland.

He has remained on Merseyside but is confident he will be fit for Liverpool’s next match against former manager Roy Hodgson’s West Brom side at the Hawthorns on April 2.

“In Liverpool working hard to be ready for next match,” Suarez said on his Twitter page.

“I’ve been lucky, the injury isn’t that bad and it should be fine. I also want to tell you I’m a bit sad for not playing the match with Uruguay.”

While the international break has come at the right time for Suarez, team-mate Jay Spearing is keen to try to build on what he described as his best game for Liverpool in the win at the Stadium of Light.

The Wirral-born 22-year-old has impressed manager Kenny Dalglish, who gave him a surprise start in January’s Merseyside derby, and the midfielder wants to continue his progress.

“I made my first start in the Premier League at Sunderland last season and it didn’t go as well as we wanted with the beachball incident, but I felt a lot more at home this time,” said Spearing, who has bounced back from a broken foot diagnosed after that Everton game.

“It’s a year on from that game and I’ve been working hard since then and I feel a lot more confident in myself.

“The new manager has given me a lot of confidence. He started me in the derby at Anfield and he has shown he has got a lot of belief in me.

“He knows the type of player I am and what I can do. Any player that has the confidence of the manager gets a massive confidence boost.”