{"id":391374,"date":"2026-01-06T16:02:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/391374\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T16:02:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:02:05","slug":"2nd-lfc-midfielder-returns-with-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/391374\/","title":{"rendered":"2nd LFC Midfielder Returns With Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool have brought midfielder James Balagizi back from his loan spell with Forest Green Rovers, with the 22-year-old recovering from a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

Balagizi is confirmed<\/a> to have returned to Liverpool following a hamstring injury which kept him out of action for Forest Green Rovers for over two months.<\/p>\n

Liverpool Loan Update: Balagizi, McConnell & Beck Return<\/p>\n

James Balagizi: The 22-year-old has officially returned from Forest Green Rovers after treatment for a long-term hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

Loan terminations: Midfielder James McConnell<\/a> (Ajax) and left-back Owen Beck<\/a> (Derby) have also seen their spells cut short this month.<\/p>\n

The Elliott limbo: Despite a \u00a335m permanent clause, Aston Villa<\/a> have confirmed they do not intend to sign Harvey Elliott<\/a>, leaving his immediate future unresolved.<\/p>\n

The versatile midfielder made 10 appearances for the non-league club, scoring one goal, but he began treatment at the AXA Training Centre following his last outing against Championship side Luton<\/a> in the FA Cup<\/a> in October.<\/p>\n

With his recovery ongoing the decision was made to move back to Liverpool on a full-time basis, with his next step to be assessed in due course.<\/p>\n

\"KIRKBY,<\/p>\n

Balagizi\u2019s prospects in the second half of the campaign will depend on his fitness, as loan and permanent moves cannot be ruled out at this stage.<\/p>\n

That comes with the former England U20 international into the final six months of his contract and unlikely to be offered a long-term extension.<\/p>\n

If he is not able to recover in time to secure a switch in January, Balagizi could provide another option for U21s head coach Rob Page in the final months of 2025\/26.<\/p>\n

January 2026: Liverpool Loan Returns<\/p>\n

Player
\nReturned From
\nPrimary Reason<\/p>\n

James Balagizi
\nForest Green Rovers
\nInjury (Hamstring)<\/p>\n

James McConnell
\nAjax
\nMinutes \/ Injury<\/p>\n

Owen Beck
\nDerby County
\nInjury (Hamstring Surgery)<\/p>\n

Liverpool loan status 2026: Every recall and injury this January<\/p>\n

\"PLYMOUTH,<\/p>\n

Liverpool have already seen midfielder James McConnell<\/a> and left-back Owen Beck<\/a> return from unsuccessful loan spells this month.<\/p>\n

McConnell fell out of favour at Ajax and could be considered as a first-team option for Arne Slot<\/a>, though This Is Anfield understands the 21-year-old is currently injured while he is also attracting interest from other clubs.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Beck underwent hamstring surgery in November and is not expected back until the back end of the season, with Derby confirming his loan\u2019s early termination.<\/p>\n

Left-back James Norris briefly moved back to Merseyside after a standout loan with Shelbourne, but has now joined the Irish side on a permanent basis.<\/p>\n

Isaac Mabaya is another player who is currently receiving treatment at the AXA Training Centre having sustained a serious Achilles injury in August, but his loan at Wigan is yet to be terminated.<\/p>\n

\"LIVERPOOL,<\/p>\n

Liverpool await a decision from Aston Villa<\/a> on the future of Harvey Elliott<\/a>, who finds himself in limbo after Unai Emery confirmed he does not intend to sign him on a permanent basis.<\/p>\n

A \u00a335 million transfer would be triggered if Elliott plays five more times for Villa but there are no plans to do so, however the Midlands club are required to pay a financial penalty if they cut the loan short.<\/p>\n

Kostas Tsimikas<\/a>\u2018 future at AS Roma is yet to be determined, but the Greek is no longer considered a regular starter and it has been suggested that the Serie A side will look to send him back to Liverpool early.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool have brought midfielder James Balagizi back from his loan spell with Forest Green Rovers, with the 22-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[5574,189884,100726,403,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-391374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-academy","9":"tag-james-balagizi","10":"tag-loan-watch","11":"tag-soccer","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391374","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=391374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}