Jaden Duns is unlikely to feature again this year after the extent of the Liverpool teenager’s recent injury became clear. Dans suffered a hamstring injury while taking a free-kick while playing for the Reds Under-21s in a Premier League 2 game at Ipswich Town last month.
Subsequent scans confirmed the severity of the problem and the 19-year-old striker is expected to be sidelined for a significant period of time while he recovers from the problem. “It could be a few months,” Liverpool Under-21s coach Rob Page told the Liverpool ECHO. “It’s not going to be resolved anytime soon.”
“It’s a setback for him, but Dancy is very positive about everything in life, especially football. If anyone can get through this setback, it’s definitely him. He has the full support of the medical team, myself and the staff. He will get through it.”
It was another devastating blow for the young forward, whose loan spell at Sunderland, scheduled for the second half of last season, was ultimately canceled due to a back problem.
Dans returned to full fitness in the summer and featured on the bench in the first-team’s League Cup victory over Southampton four days before suffering his latest injury.
The forward made his Liverpool first-team debut in February 2024 and has since scored three goals in 10 games, appearing in every major competition, including last year’s League Cup final victory over Chelsea at Wembley. Liverpool Under-21s coach Page has shared his thoughts after Tuesday night’s 2-0 defeat to Crewe Alexandra in the EFL Trophy.
Despite having the advantage in possession and chances, Liverpool were reversed early on by a controversial penalty from Emre Tezger, followed by Dion Rankin’s goal before half-time to double the League Two hosts’ lead.
“We had 70 per cent possession, we had 16 attempts on goal and we created enough chances to win the game, but this is the reality of football,” Page said.
The player felt that the penalty decision was harsh, saying: “This penalty is very tough for me. The referee agreed that the keeper (Fabian Mrozek) won the ball but thought it was a reckless challenge and that changed the game.”
“We were too open to score the second goal, so that’s something we have to work on. There were more positives than negatives, but the players need to understand the importance of winning games and that losing hurts.”
“As any club, we come into this business with a winning mentality. We need to be more ruthless and clinical in the final third.”
Liverpool were without several key forwards due to injury, including summer signing Will Wright, and Kieran Morrison and Keylor Figueroa, who were away on international duty.
“A lot of our better players aren’t going to be available, but we’ve given other players a chance and we’ve given (17-year-olds) Josh Sonni-Lambhee and Joe Bradshaw an opportunity to step up,” Page said.
“And I thought Amara Naro was special when he came on at centre-back. It looked like he forgot to play football.”
