Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he left Raheem Sterling out of his squad to face Celtic on Saturday in order to protect the winger.

Sterling has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons recently having been arrested on suspicion of assault last week following an alleged altercation with his girlfriend.

The 18-year-old has since been released on conditional bail but was left out of Liverpool's final pre-season match as a result of his off-field troubles.

"I just thought he had been through a lot," Rodgers told reporters. "He hadn't slept at all in the last 48 hours and adding to that Jordan Ibe has been excellent and at 17 he is showing great promise. That was all it was, to protect Raheem."

Sterling is due to reappear in court on September 28.