{"id":362443,"date":"2025-12-21T20:21:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T20:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/362443\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T20:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T20:21:09","slug":"wataru-endo-injury-timeline-revealed-arne-slots-midfield-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/362443\/","title":{"rendered":"Wataru Endo Injury Timeline Revealed: Arne Slot’s Midfield Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool are expected to be without Wataru Endo<\/a> until the middle of January, following a fresh update regarding his injury absence.<\/p>\n

The Reds may be undefeated in their last six matches, beating Tottenham<\/a> 2-1 away from home on Saturday, but injuries are becoming a concern.<\/p>\n

Wataru Endo<\/a> injury update: A quick look<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mid-January return: Japan\u2019s captain is expected to be sidelined until at least mid-January following an ankle injury sustained during the 3-3 draw at Leeds<\/a> earlier.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Midfield minutes: Despite Liverpool\u2019s injury crisis, Endo has played just 44 minutes of Premier League<\/a> football this season, falling behind Ryan Gravenberch<\/a> and Curtis Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Emerging talent: Endo\u2019s absence has opened the door for 18-year-old Trey Nyoni<\/a>, who made his Premier League<\/a> debut in the 2-1 win at Tottenham<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Future uncertain: With his contract running until 2027 but playing time limited, speculation remains over whether the 32-year-old will remain at Anfield beyond the summer.<\/p>\n

Alexander Isak<\/a> worryingly limped off straight after scoring the opening goal at Spurs, with a lengthy spell out of the team on the horizon.<\/p>\n

Conor Bradley<\/a> also went off, while the likes of Giovanni Leoni<\/a> and Cody Gakpo<\/a> are already missing, as well as veteran midfielder Endo.<\/p>\n

When will Wataru Endo return for Liverpool?<\/p>\n

\"LIVERPOOL,<\/p>\n

According to journalist David Lynch on Substack<\/a>, Liverpool will be without Japan\u2019s captain until mid-January, having not featured since the 3-3 draw at Leeds<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Arne Slot<\/a>\u2018s use of Endo has frustrated some Liverpool fans, with the 32-year-old\u2019s experience proving to be important in the past.<\/p>\n

He has only featured for 44 minutes in the Premier League<\/a> this season, across five cameo appearances, suggesting his boss doesn\u2019t see a future for him at Anfield.<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if Endo will leave next summer \u2013 he is contracted until 2027 \u2013 but his current absence could give an opportunity to Trey Nyoni<\/a> during the festive period and New Year.<\/p>\n

Could Wataru Endo\u2019s absence allow Trey Nyoni to shine?<\/p>\n

\"LIVERPOOL,<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old made his Premier League<\/a> debut in Saturday\u2019s win at Spurs, replacing Florian Wirtz<\/a> deep into stoppage time in a proud moment.<\/p>\n

Nyoni is 14 years Endo\u2019s junior, so Slot may consider him a natural heir in his Liverpool squad, having talked up his and Rio Ngumoha<\/a>\u2018s chances during the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have an incredible chance to work and be every day around players like Virgil van Dijk<\/a>, Mo Salah<\/a> and all these players, to see what they do to be ready to perform every three days,\u201d Slot said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a step these players definitely have to make, which is completely normal if you are 16 or 17. It\u2019s already nice if they can play once a week at a good level and we just try to develop them in the best way we can.<\/p>\n

Liverpool midfielders\u2019 Premier League minutes this season<\/p>\n

Player
\nAppearances
\nPL Minutes<\/p>\n

Dominik Szoboszlai
\n17
\n1,523<\/p>\n

Ryan Gravenberch
\n15
\n1,322<\/p>\n

Alexis Mac Allister
\n16
\n1,101<\/p>\n

Florian Wirtz
\n16
\n1,094<\/p>\n

Curtis Jones
\n15
\n728<\/p>\n

Wataru Endo
\n5
\n44<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we also have to take care of them, because new players that come in who are 24, 23, 22 already experience that the intensity levels are quite high, let alone players that are 16 and coming through the academy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we are aware of that, but it\u2019s been a promising start for [Rio], like for Trey Nyoni<\/a> as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granted, Nyoni is unlikely to feature prominently for Liverpool, unless a host of midfield injuries arrive, but the FA Cup<\/a> third round clash with Barnsley could be a great chance to shine.<\/p>\n

Frequently Asked Questions<\/p>\n

What is the latest Wataru Endo<\/a> injury news?<\/p>\n

Wataru Endo<\/a> is currently recovering from an ankle injury and is expected to be unavailable for selection until mid-January 2026.<\/p>\n

How many minutes has Wataru Endo<\/a> played this season?<\/p>\n

The Japanese international has managed just 44 minutes of Premier League<\/a> action across five substitute appearances during the 2025\/26 campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool are expected to be without Wataru Endo until the middle of January, following a fresh update regarding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[20174,403,99,178696,163947],"class_list":{"0":"post-362443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-injuries","9":"tag-soccer","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-trey-nyoni","12":"tag-wataru-endo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}