Liverpool’s Transfer Window Questions and Injury Updates
Liverpool’s transfer window ended with more questions than answers, but the next wave of reinforcements may already be in-house.
No right-sided winger. No new midfielder. No right-back through the door, despite a late push. A squad that looks complete on paper suddenly feels stretched in all the wrong areas.
Behind the scenes, though, there is a different kind of plan taking shape.
Three long-term absentees on the way back
According to The Times, Liverpool expect Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley to play a “chunk” of this season, despite all three currently being sidelined with serious injuries.
That word matters. “Chunk” suggests more than a token cameo or a late-season dead rubber. It hints at meaningful minutes, possibly over several weeks, at a time when the squad badly needs fresh legs and fresh ideas.
All three have been out for a long spell.
Ekitike, the most recent casualty of the trio, has been missing since April. Leoni has not featured since last September, closing in on a full year out. Bradley has been absent since the start of the year. For each of them, this is not just a lay-off. It’s a rebuild.
The severity of the injuries has made timelines murky. Liverpool have been cautious in their messaging, and there is still no clarity on exactly what level these players will hit when they do return. The first step will simply be getting back onto the pitch. Match sharpness, rhythm, and anything close to peak fitness will come much later.
That’s why the suggestion that all three could still contribute a notable portion of the campaign lands as a significant boost for the club.
Leoni closest, Ekitike targeted for winter
Leoni appears to be the nearest to a comeback. The expectation is that he will soon be back in contention, though Liverpool are prepared to handle him carefully after such a long absence. Rushing him now would risk undoing nearly a year of patient recovery.
Ekitike’s path looks slightly longer. His return is being talked about closer to Christmas, with the belief that he can still play a part in 2026. For a player out since April, that would represent a strong turnaround and a timely injection of attacking depth.
Bradley remains the great unknown
Bradley is the mystery in all this.
Updates on his condition have been rare. There is no firm public understanding of the full extent of his injury or a concrete recovery schedule. That uncertainty has hung over Liverpool’s planning, particularly on the right side of defence.
The club’s late attempt to prise Malo Gusto from Chelsea on loan underlined that concern. Gusto, capable of operating both at right-back and in midfield, would have eased the burden in two positions where Liverpool are light. Chelsea, though, refused to let him leave on the cheap, and the move never materialised.
That failed pursuit raised alarms about Bradley’s prospects. If Liverpool were scrambling for cover, what did that say about his chances this season?
Yet The Times’ line that Bradley could still feature for a “chunk” of the campaign cuts through some of that gloom. It doesn’t erase the doubt, but it does offer something Liverpool have been short of in that area: genuine optimism.
The squad may be locked in for now, but if Ekitike, Leoni and Bradley do return in time to influence the season, the real story of Liverpool’s campaign might be written not by the players they failed to sign, but by the ones who refused to fade from it.
