Liverpool told they'll have to wait even longer to see 'lethal' star get back to his best

Last season, Liverpool's campaign was derailed due to injuries.

Whether it was Conor Bradley, Alexander Isak or Ibrahima Konate, at every single point of the 2025-26 season, a key player for the Reds was out of action.

Most people expected the Anfield outfit the be one of the most dominant teams in the Premier League after spending over £450 million on new players but, in reality, that couldn't have been further from the truth.

They ended up finishing in fifth place and only just managed to qualify for the Champions League.

If they hadn't managed to do that, they'd be in an even worse position than they currently find themselves, which, at this moment in time, seems hard to fathom.

So many players still need to be brought in by Liverpool to make them competitive again however, if they keep on being handed these set-backs, it's hard to see how Andoni Iraola is going to be able to turn things around.

Liverpool told that Hugo Ekitike won't be back to the best version of himself until the 2026-27 season

As mentioned, Liverpool's first-team squad were riddled with injuries last term.

Many of their players suffered long-term setbacks which led to players such as Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones being used out of position on more than one occasion.

However, it wasn't just Liverpool's defence that suffered as, their attack was also hit rather hard by injuries.

The worst of the lot though was Hugo Ekitike. The Frenchman was being mooted as the potential signing of the season by a lot of people but, towards the end of the campaign, he tore his Achilles which kept him out of action for a rather long time.

Of course, Alexander Isak also spent a lot of time in the treatment room but, since Liverpool never really had him available to them as an option, his injuries didn't hurt Slot's men as much as Ekitike's did.

Since tearing his Achilles, many different return dates for the 'lethal' striker have been shared but now, thanks to an update from the Liverpool ECHO, it looks like the Reds could be waiting an awfully long time before he's back to 100 per cent.

"Ekitike, though, has himself set a comeback date of Boxing Day," they wrote.

"Although the severity of his Achilles injury suggests it won't be until next season that he is properly back and firing fully."

Liverpool have to sign at least another two attackers before the summer transfer window slams shut

One of the main areas of Liverpool's squad that fans have wanted them to upgrade this season is their attack.

Now that Mohamed Salah has exited L4, their main attacking outlet has to change.

Of course, on his day, Isak would easily be able to plug this gap but, following his performances from last season, it's unclear whether he'll ever be as good for Liverpool as he was for Newcastle.

Obviously, with a proper pre-season behind him, he's bound to do better but, unless Iraola plays to his strengths, there's no guarantees.

Ekitike was the Reds' best attacker last season and there's no doubt that Liverpool would have felt much better if they had him at their disposal.

However, since that clearly isn't going to happen, at least another two attackers need to be brought in.

Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye are the two most likely candidates to join Liverpool at the moment but, until some concrete bids have been made, it feels like the Reds could end up rather short-handed upfront.

Here's hoping that we finally see some more movement from Richard Hughes before he joins Al-Hilal.