Sturridge must be fully fit to compete at London 2012, insists British coach

By Andrew Warshaw at the Main Press Centre on the Olympic Park in London

July 16 – Team GB head coach Stuart Pearce says he will not take a chance on his main striker Daniel Sturridge – unless he is 100 per cent convinced of the player’s fitness ahead of the country’s opening London 2012 fixture against Senegal at Old Trafford on July 26.

Sturridge (pictured top) was struck down by viral meningitis earlier this month but has now been given the all-clear to link up with Team GB’s 18-man squad for the Olympic tournament.

Pearce can name a replacement for Chelsea’s Sturridge, who was not involved in the 1-0 warm-up defeat by Mexico at the squad’s Spanish training camp on Sunday, right up until 24 hours before the Senegal game.

“There were doubts because of the illness he had but he’s joined up today and our fitness people are looking at him,” said Pearce, as his squad checked in for one night at the Olympic Village in London (pictured below) before heading north ahead of Friday’s prestige friendly against Brazil at Middlesbrough.

“This week will be very interesting to see if he comes through the training sessions.

“I’ve got to be 100 per cent sure in my own mind that Daniel is ready to go and fit enough to see out a tournament.

“We’ve got until the 25th [July] but I think a decision will be made this week, to give a new individual the best chance to bed in if required.

“If he plays a part against Brazil that will be an indicator for me to gauge his fitness.”

Although the football tournament at London 2012 has yet to grab the attention of the sporting public as much as some individual sports, Pearce says the squad has gelled far quicker than he thought and insists he wasn’t disheartened by the Mexico result.

Other countries which traditionally focus on the Olympics, said Pearce, have had far more time together than Team GB.

“Mexico are ahead of us like a lot of the teams performing here,” he explained.

“The UAE, I think, have played 17 friendlies going into this tournament whereas we are a fresh group.

“A lot of the players know each other but we’ve only had one game as a team.”

Although a British football team has little or no history in the Olympics compared to the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship, Pearce is determined his squad will not be a sideshow – and that it ends up being a legacy for the future.

“I set teams up to go and try and win a tournament,” said Pearce.

“That it would obviously be a success but a partial success too would be these players going back to their clubs and saying what a fantastic experience they’ve had.

“Word of mouth from player to player counts for a lot for this to happen again in four years’ time.”

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