Daniel Sturridge could earn a recall to Great Britain's starting XI for their Group A clash against Uruguay on Wednesday (KO 7.45pm).

Sturridge has admitted he has still not fully recovered from his meningitis scare.

The Chelsea striker's presence in Stuart Pearce's Great Britain squad was thrown into doubt when he contracted the virus at the beginning of last month.

It was only 48 hours before GB's first game against Senegal that Sturridge was given the all-clear.

After a disappointing performance in that opening match, the 23-year-old made a much more effective contribution against United Arab Emirates on Sunday, netting with a fabulous chip to seal a 3-1 win.

It put Sturridge in line for a recall in Wednesday's decider with Uruguay at the Millennium Stadium, when GB must avoid defeat to book a quarter-final berth.

However, he admitted he is still not 100%.

"I am getting there but I am still not 100%," he said.

"Basically I am a week behind the rest of the lads in terms of fitness because they had a week of pre-season when I was at my club.

"Also I have lost a bit of weight but I am getting fitter."

A fully fit Sturridge would be a big advantage for GB against a Uruguay side for whom star duo Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani have so far failed to fire as anticipated.

Yet Sturridge is acutely aware how close he came to not being involved at all, which after missing out on Euro 2012 would have been a shattering disappointment.

"This was the centre-piece of my summer," he said.

"It was the right stage to show what I am capable of.

"But I was more than a bit concerned about missing it.

"A week after contracting meningitis, I was unsure whether I would be coming or not.

"At that stage I certainly felt worse than I thought I would.

"Thankfully, as time went on I improved, although there were only a couple of days to go before we made the decision to go for it."

Now Sturridge has made the desired impact, finding exactly the right audience to perform that chip in front of given Roy Hodgson was at Wembley.

"I pretty much knew what I was going to do after the first touch," he said.

"I looked up to see if the keeper was off his line and went for it straight away.

"When you try something like that there is always a little doubt isn't there? You just hope it comes off."

Wednesday's game will be GB's third in six days, putting additional strain on veteran duo Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy, who has already contributed one goal and two assists to the GB cause.

With Spain bowing out and Uruguay likely to be condemned as well if Pearce's men complete their own task at the Millennium Stadium, hopes will start to rise of a rare major tournament last four appearance.

For professional reasons, Sturridge and his team-mates are desperate to make that happen.

But there is a personal desire as well given how positive the entire Olympic experience has been so far.

"It is completely different," said Sturridge.

"Everyone is mingling.

"It is not about football. It is about Team GB and being part of something special. It is about a huge team that is trying to contribute medals.

"Going to the opening ceremony was amazing. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all the players to be involved in something like that.

"You normally watch it on TV but to be able to go round the stadium, with all the fireworks and see Paul McCartney, it was just a phenomenal experience."