Perth Glory coach Richard Garcia says Daniel Sturridge is committed to seeing out the A-League Men season despite the star striker's latest "soul crushing" setback.
Sturridge will spend another frustrating stint on the sidelines after injuring his groin during Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Macarthur.
Glory are yet to receive the results of Thursday night's scans, but they are expecting to be without the former Liverpool star for several weeks as a minimum.
Given the fact Glory are likely to play two games a week from this point on to make up for their missed matches, even a three-week stint on the sidelines could see Sturridge miss six games.
Sturridge's time in Australia has been plagued by three separate stints in quarantine and a snail-paced build to fitness on the training track.
The 32-year-old Englishman, who hadn't played in 18 months before joining Glory, lasted just 19 minutes against Macarthur before tearing his left groin.
Despite the disappointment, Garcia said Sturridge is keen to stay at Glory and make it back out onto the park.
"I don't think Daniel wants to stop playing at this point," Garcia said.
"He feels like he's got more to give, and he wants to give more to the team and the club. That's something that's very admirable.
"His willingness to go to the next step of this period is fantastic, because he could have easily have said, 'It's all getting too much, I'm going to take off'.
"But he's not. He's going to stick around and he's going to try his hardest to get back for the group."
Garcia said it was important for the club to keep Sturridge's spirits high.
"Of course he was down after the game, but we tried to build him back up again and make him realise there will be light at the end of the tunnel," Garcia said.
"It's just about him getting fit again. The issue is have we got time to get him fit? I think there will be time for that. But it's a matter of him pushing himself in the right areas.
"I think the other night was a little bit soul crushing for him, but he seems to have bounced back well over the last couple of days and he's still in a good frame of mind."
Glory will be back in action on Sunday when they host ladder leaders Western United in Launceston.
