Former Liverpool midfielder Dieter Hamann believes that the Reds can't rely on injury-prone striker Daniel Sturridge.

The 26-year-old suffered yet another injury following the 2-0 defeat against Newcastle United, with a fresh hamstring problem set to rule him out for the next couple of weeks.

Sturridge has made just six appearances for Liverpool this season and according to Hamann, that is nowhere near enough to bank on him as a regular goalscorer.

"You can't rely on him," Hamann told talkSPORT's Colin Murray show.

"The club needs to make a decision now about whether you can have a player, who is one of your top earners, who only plays half the games at best.

"He is a luxury Liverpool cannot afford. They've got to make a call, because he's not going to go from playing 50 per cent of games a year to 90-100 per cent. It isn't going to happen.

"Are they good enough and wealthy enough as a club? I don't think Liverpool, in the current state they are in, can afford him."