Arne Slot confirms worrying Endo injury update ahead of Brighton clash | OneFootball

Arne Slot has provided a definitive Wataru Endo injury update ahead of Liverpool’s FA Cup meeting with Brighton at Anfield, confirming the Japan international faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The 32-year-old Liverpool No.3 was stretchered off during our 1-0 Premier League win away at Sunderland on Wednesday night, a game in which he was making his first league start of the season while filling in at right-back.

Speaking at the AXA Training Centre on Friday morning (via Liverpoolfc.com), Arne Slot did not downplay the severity of the issue.

“A foot injury. We still need to do some assessments but it’s clear and obvious that he will be out for quite a long time.”

That statement follows the Dutch head coach’s immediate post-match comments on Wearside, when he admitted the injury “doesn’t look good” and praised Wataru Endo’s mentality for staying on to defend one final set-piece despite clearly being in pain.

Endo injury update confirms Brighton absence

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

There is now no doubt that Endo will miss Brighton in the FA Cup, and based on Slot’s wording, the absence is expected to stretch well beyond a single fixture.

The former Stuttgart midfielder had hardly featured in the Premier League this season before Sunderland, with just 12 appearances in all competitions, three starts and 455 minutes played (via Transfermarkt).

For a player whose contract runs until June 2027, opportunities have already been limited, and this setback comes at a particularly cruel time.

Endo was deployed out of position at right-back against Sunderland, yet still won the most duels of any player on the pitch before his injury.

He also remained on the field briefly after the knock to defend a corner, underlining the warrior mentality that Slot referenced.

Endo’s season context and Liverpool implications

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

This was Endo’s first Premier League start of the campaign, and it came in the match where we became the first team to beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the top flight this season.

The timing is significant not only for Liverpool but for Endo personally, given that he is captain of Japan and will have a World Cup this summer to prepare for.

It was explained how the on-pitch treatment he received suggested the injury was serious, with reports noting the use of an inhalable trauma painkiller typically reserved for severe cases.

Slot’s latest update now confirms those fears.

With limited minutes this term and ongoing competition for places, there had already been discussion about Endo’s long-term future, and this injury inevitably raises further questions about what the summer could hold.

For now, though, the priority is recovery.

Liverpool host Brighton on Saturday night without our No.3, and Arne Slot must once again find a solution in a position that has already caused problems this season.

You can view Slot’s post-Sunderland press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:

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