While Luis Suarez's position among the best in the game is not in doubt his strike partner still has some way to go.
Sturridge is two years younger than his Uruguayan team-mate but Rodgers believes the England man can reach the same levels in a similar timeframe.
Daniel Sturridge
Born Birmingham, 1 Sep 1989
Youth clubs Aston Villa, Coventry City, Manchester City
Senior clubs Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool
Pro debut Man City v Reading, 5 Feb 2007
England representative U16, U17, U18, U19, U20, U21, Senior
England Senior debut v Sweden, 15 Nov 2011
Caps 9
Goals 2
"My opinion on Daniel has only been reinforced during the period I have worked with him," said Rodgers of the player he signed for £12million from Chelsea a year ago.
"Overall he has a wonderful opportunity in the next couple of years of being world class.
"He has every tool, every quality to be a world-class striker similar to what Luis Suarez is.
"We just need to get him onto the field on a regular basis and he gets a bit of luck in staying clear of injury and he can be that for sure."
Last weekend Sturridge marked his return to action after a seven-week injury lay-off with a goal in the 5-3 win at Stoke which took his personal tally to 12 for the season.
That is still 10 behind the remarkable Suarez but Rodgers believes the spell the former Manchester City man had on the sidelines means he can fully attack the second half of the campaign.
"This little period out through injury has refreshed him mentally as well and he comes back for the second half of the season," he added.
"He made an immediate impact when he came on.
"That was something which was very important for us as we had someone of that talent sat on the bench who could come on and change the nature of the game."
