Liverpool Receives Boost with Return of Three Key Players
Liverpool’s thin squad has been handed a rare dose of good news: three long‑term absentees are now expected to play a meaningful part in the season.
The Times reports that Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley are all on course to feature for a “chunk” of the campaign, a significant boost for a side that ended the window short in several key areas.
A squad stretched, and a plan that never came
Liverpool’s business is done, but the squad is anything but complete. They head into the heart of the season without a specialist right-sided winger, short in midfield, and still light at right-back.
There was late movement. Liverpool explored a loan for Chelsea’s Malo Gusto, a player who could have plugged gaps both at right-back and in central areas. Chelsea, though, were in no mood to sanction a cheap deal, and the door closed.
So Liverpool are left to improvise. The strategy now is clear: hold the line, manage minutes, and hope the medical room begins to empty.
Three long roads back
That hope has finally taken shape.
Ekitike, Leoni and Bradley have all been out for extended periods. Ekitike, the most recent casualty of the three, has still been sidelined since April. Bradley has not played since the turn of the year. Leoni has been missing since last September, close to a full year out.
These are not niggles or short layoffs. All three have dealt with serious injuries, the type that make return dates fuzzy and post-recovery levels of performance even harder to predict. When they do step back onto the pitch, it will be only one stage in a longer climb back to full sharpness.
That is why the suggestion that each could still play a substantial part of the season lands so strongly inside the club. “Chunk” is a vague word, but it hints at more than a token cameo or a handful of minutes. It suggests at least a sustained spell of involvement, perhaps a month or more, and potentially much longer if setbacks are avoided.
Timelines and a wild card
Leoni is expected to be the first to rejoin the conversation. His return to contention should come relatively soon, though Liverpool will not rush him after such a long lay-off. Patience will be the watchword as he builds rhythm and trust in his body again.
Ekitike’s path looks a little longer. His comeback is likely to edge closer to Christmas, but the expectation remains that he will still have a role to play in 2026, giving Liverpool another attacking option once he clears the final hurdles of his rehabilitation.
Bradley is the mystery.
Updates on the right-back have been scarce, with little clarity around the full extent of his problem or a firm recovery schedule. The club’s attempt to bring in cover at right-back late in the window hardly painted an optimistic picture of his short-term prospects.
Yet The Times’ line that Bradley, too, could still feature for a chunk of the season changes the mood. If Liverpool can count on him at any consistent level, it reshapes their options on that side of the pitch and eases the pressure on a defence already being asked to do more with less.
For a squad that has been bracing itself to simply get through the schedule, the prospect of three significant reinforcements emerging from the treatment room might prove as important as any signing they never quite managed to make.
