The Blues’ winger injured his groin in the derby defeat to United last week and his absence has been estimated at up to six weeks, ruling him out until early May.
Quoted in the Daily Mirror, Sterling said: “I’m disappointed to be injured and obviously it’s going to be really difficult missing the Champions League, but I hope to be back as soon as possible and I know I’ll be fine for the Euros.”
He added: “We want to do the country proud when we get to France. But it takes something very special to win a World Cup or European Championship - as a lot of England teams have found out over the years.
“We know we came home from Brazil too early, but we have got players who want to express themselves and play in a positive way.
“Ask any player in the squad what they want to achieve in the Euros and they will tell you we are going there to win it. Everyone should have dreams and we don’t want to go there just to make up the numbers.
“Qualification went really well and we are confident that we can have an impact in France.”
Elsewhere, a player rumoured to be on City’s summer shopping list has suffered a nasty injury which could rule him out for several months.
The Guardian report: “Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte, reportedly a summer target of Manchester City, is likely to face a long period out after his club confirmed he had sustained a broken leg and dislocated ankle.
“Laporte, who has been mooted as a long-term replacement for Vincent Kompany and is known to have been considered by Manchester United in the past, was injured playing for France’s Under-21s against Scotland on Thursday. He was carried off after his right leg was hurt in a tackle and Athletic announced on Friday that the problem is serious.”
Finally, Kelechi Iheanacho made his full Nigeria debut on Friday and impressed in the Super Eagles’ 1-1 draw with Egypt.
All Nigeria Soccer report: “English Premier League club Manchester City monitored the African Cup of Nations qualifier between Nigeria and Egypt on Friday evening.
“Their highly-rated striker Kelechi Iheanacho made his first-ever start for the Super Eagles, lasting 64 minutes on the pitch before he was replaced by Osmanlıspor frontman Aminu Umar.
“The Super Eagles went in front on the hour mark courtesy of Oghenekaro Etebo, who scrambled home a rebound after Iheanacho had hit the woodwork.
“Iheanacho has two caps for the senior national team, having made his official debut, off the bench, in a World Cup qualifier against Swaziland last November.”
More Easter transfer gossip and rumours tomorrow…
