Liverpool secured a morale-boosting 1-0 win against Sunderland on Wednesday night, but the win was tainted by what appeared to be a serious injury to midfielder Wataru Endo.
Arne Slot provided an update on Wataru Endo (Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool manager Arne Slott has admitted Wataru Endo could face a long period of sideline after being carried off on a stretcher against Sunderland. The Japanese international was included in the starting lineup for the Reds’ trip to the Stadium of Light, playing at right-back.
However, his night came to an early end as he was carried off the pitch in an innocuous incident in the second half. And Slott, asked for his verdict on Endo, admitted that he might not be able to pitch for a while.
At the post-match press conference, he said: “Yes, it’s a serious situation. We still need to evaluate it tomorrow, so we don’t know yet how serious it is, but it doesn’t look good.”
“I’m not sure (if it’s an ankle). It’s a foot, but whether it’s an ankle or a foot, that’s something we’ll have to evaluate tomorrow.”
“He’s going to be out for a very long time. It’s hard to say at the moment how long, but it’s incredible what this proper full-back position will do for us this season.”
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Endo’s injury took the shine off a great night for Liverpool on Wearside. Virgil van Dijk’s winning goal secured victory and closed the gap on the top four to two points.
Asked about his team’s performance, Slott added: “It didn’t feel like a struggle at all to me because I think we also played really, really, really well. We didn’t face any weather and we played at home against Sunderland who were unbeaten until tonight.”
“They’re a good team, they have a good manager and they have a difficult style of play to play against, because as you can see from the game we played against them at home, there are a lot of long balls that you have to defend and a lot of balls that go into the channels. I think we did that really well.”
Endo collapsed on a stretcher during the second half of the game against Sunderland (Image: Getty Images)
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“We controlled the second ball really well and played very good football from that second ball. We’re getting used to it more and more now, but tonight was the same, we miss a lot of chances.”
“But compared to all the other games we played against promoted teams and teams above us, the big exception for us tonight was that we didn’t score from set-pieces. Usually we concede one goal, but tonight we scored. That was the difference for us in this game.”
Liverpool will turn their attention to this weekend’s FA Cup clash with Premier League rivals Brighton at Anfield. In their next league match, they will face Nottingham Forest and continue their struggle to qualify for the Champions League.
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