Projected Stefan Bajcetic comeback date: When could injury-plagued prodigy return for Liverpool? | OneFootball

Three years after first breaking into the Liverpool senior side, Stefan Bajcetic seems further away than ever from getting back there.

Now 21, the midfielder has been ravaged by injury problems ever since his breakthrough season has halted by an adductor issue in March 2023, with calf and back problems ruining his subsequent campaign, and he eventualy underwent surgery last summer.

His last appearance for the Reds came in a 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur in Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate home game, although loan spells at Red Bull Salzburg and Las Palmas in 2024/25 did at least give him an opportunity to play with some regularity.

Sadly, Bajcetic has experienced further injury setbacks this season, having not played a competitive fixture of any description in the last eight months.

Bajcetic suffers yet another injury setback

As per The Athletic, he’d hoped to be in the mix for a first-team place at Liverpool before Christmas, but a fresh hamstring problem now looks set to sideline him until at least the end of January, thus scuppering any realistic chance of another loan exit this month.

It means that the Spaniard will likely have to be content with under-21 football for the remainder of the current campaign, unless he can force his way into Arne Slot’s thinking before the summer.

(Photo by Christian Hofer/Getty Images)

Bajcetic faces a challenge in returning to his 2022/23 levels

When Bajcetic broke into the Liverpool first team three years ago, he was viewed as having ‘serious, serious potential’ (Neil Jones), and a starring performance in a Merseyside derby win at Anfield hinted at how high a ceiling he could reach.

Sadly, a multitude of injury problems have stunted his progress, and since his big breakthrough in early 2023, the Reds’ midfield has been overhauled to transformative effect, thus making it all the harder for him to regain his place or even compete for a starting berth.

Even when he’s finally passed fit to play, he’d need a few matches just to get up to speed, and he’s highly unlikely to be ready for the intensity of crucial Premier League and Champions League games in the final third of the season.

Bajcetic is more than capable of making an impactful comeback – he was praised as a physical ‘bull’ during his loan spell at Las Palmas last year – and at 21, he still has ample time on his side to leave his injury woes behind him and enjoy a fruitful career at the highest level.

The road back may be gradual – far more gradual than he or anyone would’ve liked – but hopefully the gifted young midfielder can get back to the levels he showed in his breakthrough season and become a genuine first-team option for Slot at some stage in 2026.