England midfielder Jordan Henderson has backed club teammate Daniel Sturridge to return to fitness in time for Euro 2016 this summer.
Sturridge has endured an injury-plagued campaign with Liverpool and is also a major doubt for England's warm-up match against Australia on Friday having been unable to train due to a calf strain.
The match at the Stadium of Light is England's last before Roy Hodgson must pick his final 23-man squad for this summer's tournament, but Henderson is hopeful that Sturridge will make the cut even if he isn't able to feature against the Socceroos.
"He'll be disappointed, obviously he'll want to be playing some part in the next couple of games before the tournament but he's got to make sure he's doing everything he can to get fit," he told reporters.
"Hopefully he can be involved in the game tomorrow and, if not, the next one (against Portugal on June 2)."
Hodgson has confirmed that Manchester United's Marcus Rashford will start against Australia in the expected absence of Sturridge.
Barney Corkhill
