Liverpool injury update: Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker latest news and return dates | OneFootball

Two key stars nearing a return to fitness

Liverpool toiled to a draw with Chelsea over the weekend as their wait to secure Champions League qualification continued.

A frustrating game for both teams, was decided by a stunning strike from Ryan Gravenberch and Enzo Fernandez’s peculiar free kick as both teams struggled to create chances.

Alexander Isak returned off the bench to little impact, as the absence of firepower up front continues to hamper Liverpool.

With a huge clash against Aston Villa coming on Friday, the Reds will hope to be boosted at both ends of the pitch by the return of two stars.x

Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah is expected to shake off a hamstring injury, suffered against Crystal Palace last month, to make a final Liverpool appearance before leaving at the end of the season.

Salah has not yet returned to training, but Slot has confirmed he is “very, very close” to doing so with the injury on “minor”.

Potential return date: May 15 vs Aston Villa (A)

Sidelined: Mohamed Salah

Getty

Alisson Becker

Alisson has now missed nine matches on the spin, but Slot insists the goalkeeper is “close” to a return.

The Brazilian has still not yet returned to training after picking up a hamstring injury, but the expectation is that he will play again for the end of the season.

Potential return date: May 15 vs Aston Villa (A)

Hugo Ekitike has ruptured his Achilles Tendon

Getty

Hugo Ekitike

Hugo Ekitike’s impressive debut season with Liverpool was cut short after the forward suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during the clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

The striker has since undergone surgery and is expected to spend several months recovering, with the injury likely to rule him out of this summer’s World Cup as well as the opening weeks of the new Premier League campaign.

Speaking about Ekitike’s condition, Arne Slot said: “The surgery went well. That's the first important step that he had to make. But I think in such a long rehab process there are so many crucial steps to be made before you can actually say it's going to take that amount of months or that amount of months. It's going to take a long time.”

Potential return date: December 2026

Wataru Endo

Wataru Endo’s campaign was brought to a halt in February after the midfielder was stretchered off during Liverpool’s trip to the Stadium of Light with a serious ankle injury.

Initially feared to be season-ending, Endo’s recovery has progressed quicker than expected. The Japan international has already returned to individual training at the AXA Training Centre and could feature again before the end of the campaign.

Wataru Endo was stretchered off at the Stadium of Light

Getty

Conor Bradley

Liverpool’s defensive injury problems worsened in January when Conor Bradley suffered a serious knee injury during the clash with Arsenal.

Although the injury was not an ACL rupture, it was still severe enough to require surgery.

Bradley’s recovery will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season, with the defender not expected to return until the summer.

Asked for an update last week, Slot said of Bradley: “In the rehab it's always important if some steps go well. It's really difficult in the stage he's in now to predict when he will be back.

“He's still inside and working really hard but he is quite far away from going outside, that makes it quite cimplicated to tell.”

Potential return date: August 2026

Giovanni Leoni

Young centre-back Giovanni Leoni joined Liverpool amid high expectations last summer, but his debut season has been derailed by injury.

The defender suffered a ruptured ACL during an impressive first appearance against Southampton in the Carabao Cup. After undergoing surgery, he is not expected to return to action until next season.

Arne Slot recently provided an update on Leoni’s recovery, saying: “If you look at Giovanni Leoni — I don’t know if you sometimes see Instagram posts from the club — this guy is becoming a beast.”