Arne Slot must wonder what voodoo is at work as Liverpool’s injury woes deepen even further

At this stage, Arne Slot must be wondering if somebody with a voodoo doll is decimating Liverpool’s squad, with the Reds’ injury woes compounded yet again tonight.

The Premier League champions were already without Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley going into the match against Sunderland, and while Joe Gomez returned to the matchday squad, he began the night on the substitutes’ bench.

Dominik Szoboszlai had deputised at right-back in recent games, but his suspension for the trip to Wearside prompted a rare outing in that position for another midfielder in Wataru Endo.

Liverpool took a deserved lead on the hour mark when Virgil van Dijk’s header from a corner kick was diverted into his own net by Habib Diarra, but the smiles turned to grimaces just a few minutes later.

Endo suffers serious-looking injury v Sunderland

In making a timely clearance to thwart a Sunderland attack, Endo caught his foot in the turf and went down in agony. He got back to his feet and attempted to carry on, but the reprieve was short and it was clear that his night was over.

The 33-year-old looked devastated as he was taken off on a stretcher, with his facial expression hinting that it could be a serious injury for the Japanese midfielder, who was replaced at right-back by Gomez (Sky Sports).

Liverpool’s right-back injury curse strikes yet again

Seriously, what is it with Liverpool right-backs (even emergency right-backs) and injuries this season?

Bradley is out until at least the summer, Frimpong is on his third injury absence of the campaign and Gomez has also had a couple of spells in the treatment room.

Endo came in for his first Premier League start of 2025/26 tonight, but if the body blow he suffered at Sunderland is as bad as it initially seemed, it might also be his last.

At least the return of our longest-serving current player comes as a much-needed top-up to Slot’s defensive options, and Szoboszlai will be available from Saturday onwards after serving his suspension tonight.

Nevertheless, it really does seem that the Liverpool right-back berth is cursed, and we hope that the injury to our number 3 isn’t as serious as it looks upon first viewing. Fingers crossed he’ll be able to make as swift a recovery as possible.

The post Arne Slot must wonder what voodoo is at work as Liverpool’s injury woes deepen even further appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.