Arne Slot has admitted he expects Wataru Endo to be sidelined for 'quite a long time' after the Liverpool midfielder was stretchered off during the second half of their win over Sunderland. The Japan international appeared to suffer a serious ankle injury following an awkward fall, leaving the pitch with an inflatable brace on his left leg.
Endo was deployed at right-back at the Stadium of Light due to injuries to first-choice options Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley. With Joe Gomez not yet match fit and Dominik Szoboszlai suspended, the 30-year-old became the seventh different Liverpool player to start at right-back this season.
The injury occurred with just over 20 minutes remaining, prompting Gomez to replace him. Medical staff applied a brace before carrying Endo off, and Slot later confirmed the outlook is bleak. 'His injury doesn't look good,' said the Liverpool boss. 'I expect him to be out, unfortunately, for quite a long time again.'
Slot praised Endo's determination to continue defending a Sunderland corner before finally being forced off. 'What a mentality of him, things don't look good but he stays on the pitch to defend one more set piece,' he added.
Endo's setback adds to a growing injury list that has hampered Liverpool's campaign. Club-record signing Alexander Isak has missed most of the season with various issues, most recently a broken leg, while summer signing Giovanni Leoni ruptured his ACL on debut.
