Fantastic news, Liverpool expect surprise triple injury return

Liverpool will reportedly welcome three players back this season. It's a welcome surprise for the squad.

Liverpool's squad is locked in - but it's far from solid. The Reds lack players all over the place, having failed to sign a right-sided winger, a midfielder or a right-back at the deadline.

There was apparently a last-gasp attempt to sign Malo Gusto from Chelsea on loan. He's someone who could have covered the middle of the pitch as well as right-back, but the Blues weren't willing to let him go cheaply.

And so Liverpool will just have to make do. They're largely biding their time, really, as they wait for injuries to ease up and reduce the strain on the squad. There's good news in that regard, too.

The Times reports that Liverpool expect all three of Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley to play a 'chunk' of the season. The three of them are out injured right now and have been for quite some time.

In fact, Ekitike has been out the shortest time and even his dates back to April. Bradley has been out since the start of the year and Leoni since last September - so nearly a year now.

All three are serious injuries. So serious, in fact, that timescales on returns have been vague and we’re not sure what kind of shape any of them will be in on return. Even getting back on the pitch may just be a part of the process as we wouldn’t expect anything approaching full fitness for some time after that.

So the claim that they could play a ‘chunk’ of the campaign each is a welcome one. It suggests we’ll get at least a month out of all of them, and hopefully significantly more than that with one or two.

Leoni should return shortly and be back in contention, though Liverpool will be patient with him. Ekitike may have to wait until closer to Christmas but we do think he’ll feature in 2026 still.

It’s Bradley that’s the wild card. Reports about his status have been few and far between and no one appears to be entirely clear on the extent of his injury, nor his realistic recovery time.

Liverpool trying to sign a right-back isn’t a good sign, either. But The Times say he could feature for a chunk - and we’re taking that as very positive news.