Uruguay striker Luis Suarez is a phenomenon who will be at full throttle against England on Thursday, according to his former Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher. The South American forward has been sidelined since a minor knee operation late last month and sat out his nations surprise defeat to Costa Rica in their opening match of the World Cup. However, earlier this week Suarez claimed he was fully fit and Carragher warned England of the danger he will pose in Sao Paulo. You wouldnt expect him to be 100% fit, but Luis Suarez is different from others players in world football - hes a phenomenon. said the former Reds centre-back. It is one of the few times I can remember him being injured as hes played the last four summers on the bounce. Im not expecting a 100%fit Luis Suarez, but not far from it. Hes a winner and I dont think he will be going into the game worrying about his injury. Some players go on to the pitch when theyre coming back from an injury and theyre not the same physically and mentally. He wont have that in his head though. I know what type of character he is and hell be full throttle. Whether hes as sharp as he normally is remains to be seen but he will not be worried one iota about his injury. It wont stop him harrying people and trying things. That is what makes him a great player. Thursdays game is one neither side can afford to lose after both suffered defeats last week. Englands loss against Italy saw Wayne Rooney, played out of position on the left, come in for significant criticism. But Carragher does not expect England boss Roy Hodgson to make any knee-jerk reactions. I dont think there will be too many changes from the starting XI. I think therell be a light tweak with Wayne in the middle and Raheem (Sterling) out wide, he told talkSPORT. People criticised him (Rooney) on the left-hand side as it is not his favourite position but as players we all know you have to do a job for the team. We know he is better centrally but that is not the argument; he was involved in a good team performance and he created the goal. He is not playing at his absolute best but he is not playing poorly. It looks like he has become a scapegoat and his performances dont warrant that.
Posted on: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 14:15:29 +0000