Sturridge hopeful of being fit to face Chelsea

The England international, 24, hurt his hamstring in his side's 3-2 win over Manchester City on April 13.

Sturridge has missed one game with the injury, but hopes to return to face his former club – who sit five points behind Brendan Rodgers' Premier League leaders.

"Hopefully this weekend I'll be back," Sturridge said in a question-and-answer session with children on Wednesday.

"I'm not too sure if he (Rodgers) will play me or not. We'll have to see."

Sturridge was speaking at the launch of Liverpool's multi-million pound sponsorship deal with Subway.

Asked if he would celebrate if he scored against his former club, Sturridge said it was something he wanted to avoid.

"I would like to show respect to my former club, but if I were to come on and score in the last minute I'm going to be on a mad one, aren't I?" he said.

"I don't want to - but I don't know if I could control myself if that happened."

Sturridge has scored 20 league goals this season, combining with Luis Suarez (30) to help Liverpool to the brink of their first league title in 24 years.