Raheem Sterling will be given extended mid-season break to avoid burnout…
After featuring in 24 of Liverpool’s 25 matches so far this season, it appears that Raheem Sterling doesn’t have long to wait for an extended break from first-team action.
Manager Brendan Rodgers is set to allow the 20-year-old winger some time off after the club’s busy Christmas schedule, as he looks to protect his star man from burnout.
Reports in the Daily Mirror confirm that Sterling, who has only missed the Reds’ fourth round League Cup victory over Swansea City, has been promised a break in the new year.
Sterling, who was yesterday named the 2014 Golden Boy winner – an award previously won by the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney – will feature in today’s game against Arsenal, but will soon be taken out of the firing line.
The England international bagged a double in midweek at Bournemouth as Liverpool secured a Capital One Cup semi-final showdown against Chelsea.
Rodgers was quick to admit that there are risks involved in resting Sterling, but is determined to protect his young starlet, saying: “Raheem will have a rest even though he hasn’t been looking tired, either the other night or over the last number of games.
“But he is in a similar mould to Wayne Rooney – who I think is brilliant – in that if you take him out of a rhythm, it takes him a while to get going again.
“If you look at Rooney, he is better in rhythm. Take Rooney out for a couple of games and he is not the same player.
“There is a period already mapped out for Raheem when he will come out and have that breather and recovery after Christmas.”