Dietmar Hamann urges Liverpool to be patient with Daniel Sturridge's fitness.

Following a long spell on the sidelines, Sturridge has finally made a return to full fitness and the striker made an instant impact after scoring a brace in Liverpool's 3-2 victory over Aston Villa last Saturday.

The return of Sturridge is certainly a huge boost for the club but former Reds star Hamann has pleaded the club management to be careful over the fitness of the striker so as to avoid another injury.

Hamann told the Liverpool Echo: "It's a massive boost to have him back, but if Liverpool are to be successful then he's got to be there now for the next 20-30 games.

"It's no good doing it for a couple of weeks and then being out again, because then the whole team has to change again. He has to show he can stay fit, and hopefully he will.

"It's massive to have him available. Obviously he missed a lot of games, so we need to keep him fit – especially if Christian Benteke is going to be out.

"If you've got somebody with pace who can stretch defences and score goals, then it's a massive plus as we saw on Saturday. It brings the level of other players up as well.

"I do think that this is why you shouldn't be too harsh on some of the players who came last year, because they were pretty much playing the season without a centre forward. For now, they have that centre forward. But they need him consistently, not just for five or six games."