Forgotten Liverpool midfielder could viably end 15-month wait for Reds first-team appearance

With several Liverpool regulars currently sidelined with injury issues, one player could plausibly end a long wait for his next senior Reds appearance before the season concludes.

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There were quite a few notable absences from first-team training on Wednesday, with Mo Salah, Alisson Becker and Alexander Isak nowhere to be seen, while Ibrahima Konate and Florian Wirtz worked away from the main group, on top of longer-term absentees Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and Giovanni Leoni.

One player who was involved was James McConnell, the 21-year-old midfielder who spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Ajax before the deal was cut short, having gone for surgery on an injury issue at the start of this year.

McConnell working towards Liverpool first-team return

On Wednesday evening, Liverpool academy reporter Lewis Bower took to X with an update on the youngster, hinting at a potential first-team squad inclusion over the final three games of the season.

He posted: ‘James McConnell still training with the Liverpool first-team again today, as he has done with regularity since the return of his injury. One might assume that with some of the absentees from training today we might see him in the first-team squad before the end of the season.’

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Will McConnell soon end long wait for Liverpool first-team appearance?

McConnell was one of the academy gems who helped a depleted Reds side to a famous Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea two years ago, but he’s made just 13 senior appearances for Liverpool, most recently in the ignominious FA Cup defeat to Plymouth Argyle in February 2025 (Transfermarkt).

His abortive loan spell at Ajax (just 219 minutes on the pitch across seven games) didn’t provide the recharge that he was seeking, but he at least gotten back on the field for LFC at under-21 level and been in amongst the first team in training.

He actually caught the eye at Kirkby last week with a stunning finish which hinted at why Jurgen Klopp was so keen to bring him into the senior setup two seasons ago, and even moments like that will do his confidence the world of good after such a frustrating few months.

If Liverpool can clinch Champions League qualification at the weekend, the pressure will be off for the games against Aston Villa and Brentford, which should give Arne Slot more scope to hand minutes to players who’ve had precious little game-time in this campaign.

In that ideal scenario, hopefully McConnell might be introduced at some stage for a first senior Reds appearance in 15 months. What happens in the long-term is another question, but even that small step in the coming weeks would feel significant for him.

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