Liverpool extended their unbeaten run to six matches and climbed back into the top five of the Premier League table at the weekend, but their latest victory came at a massive cost.
The 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur has been overshadowed by news of a suspected broken leg for Alexander Isak, who was on the receiving end of a wild challenge from Micky van de Ven in scoring the opening goal on Saturday.
The Swedish striker had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes, having replaced Conor Bradley at half-time after an injury scare for the right-back.
Rather than counting the number of days left until Christmas, Arne Slot is left totting up how many players he’ll be without for the fixture against Wolves at Anfield next Saturday.
Liverpool injury list and expected comeback dates
Florian Wirtz: The German appeared to be feeling his hamstring as he was substituted in stoppage time on Saturday, with Trey Nyoni duly coming on for a very brief Premier League debut. However, the change appeared to be precautionary, and the 22-year-old could be cleared to face Wolves next weekend, as per The Standard.
Cody Gakpo: The Dutch forward has been sidelined for our last three matches since suffering a muscle injury in the 3-3 draw at Leeds earlier this month. While his issue isn’t as serious as first feared, he’s looking at an early January return, possibly in the New Year’s Day fixture against the Whites.
Wataru Endo: The Japanese midfielder is currently laid low with an ankle injury, with Slot indicating that our number 3 will be out of action for a few weeks. The earliest we can expect to see him involved once again would appear to be sometime in January.
Joe Gomez: The defender was forced off just 25 minutes into the recent win over Brighton with an unspecified injury. Slot ruled him out for the Spurs game, and it remains unclear exactly when the 28-year-old will be passed fit to return to action.
Conor Bradley: The right-back went off at half-time against Spurs after appearing to tweak his hamstring while pursuing Djed Spence. No projected comeback date has been cited, but it’s hoped that the 22-year-old isn’t seriously injured.
Alexander Isak: The striker has suffered a suspected broken leg after Van de Ven’s challenge on Saturday. If those fears are confirmed, he’ll be sidelined for several months, and his season would almost certainly be over.
Giovanni Leoni: Three months have now elapsed since the defender suffered a horrific ACL injury on his Liverpool debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup. Slot hinted that the teenager could be out for a full year, so it could be September 2026 before he returns.
Liverpool heavily depleted going into Wolves clash
At least Wirtz and Gakpo aren’t long-term casualties, while we remain hopeful that Gomez and Bradley might be back before long, but the injury list is nonetheless frightening for Slot.
On top of the stricken septet, Mo Salah is away at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Dominik Szoboszlai will miss the Wolves game through suspension after picking up a fifth Premier League booking this season for apparent dissent towards a typically provocative Richarlison on Saturday.
It means that, at the time of writing, Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa are the only senior attackers definitely available for Liverpool’s next match, and that’s assuming they don’t suffer any setbacks themselves in the coming days.
Rio Ngumoha may duly find increased responsibility thrust upon his 17-year-old shoulders during the festive period and into January, and while the youngster has shown that he’s a phenomenal talent, Slot will also be wary of asking too much of him at such a tender age.
Forget the presents; all the LFC head coach wants for Christmas is a reduced injury list for the Wolves match next weekend.