'It's a serious one' - Arne Slot confirms Liverpool star set for lengthy injury absence after Sunderland win

No timescale has been put on Endo’s recovery, with further medical tests taking place, but he will not be available to Slot for some time. Liverpool have endured a wretched run on the injury front this season, which has done their top-flight title defence few favours.

They started with Endo at right-back when taking in a trip to the Stadium of Light, but the 33-year-old was forced off with a little over 20 minutes of that contest remaining. He was initially hurt when blocking a shot and landing awkwardly on his ankle. The Japanese star tried to play on, but went down again and required several minutes of treatment before being carried off on a stretcher.

When delivering an update on Endo, Reds manager Slot told TNT Sports: “His injury doesn’t look good. I expect him to be out unfortunately for quite a long time again. What a mentality for him as well that things really didn’t look good but he stayed on the pitch and defended one more set piece.”

Slot went on to say as his post-match press conference: “It’s a serious one. How serious we don’t know yet. He has to be assessed tomorrow. Foot (injury), we don’t know what it is yet, but it will be assessed tomorrow. I assume he will be out for a long time. You can hardly believe what has happened in this right-back position.”

After losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid, Liverpool invested heavily in luring Netherlands international Jeremie Frimpong away from Bayer Leverkusen. He has been sidelined since late January with a groin issue.

Meanwhile, Conor Bradley has undergone surgery on a season-ending knee injury. Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has often been asked to fill in at right-back, but he missed the trip to Sunderland through suspension after picking up a straight red card late on in Liverpool’s dramatic 2-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Joe Gomez, who is capable of operating across the back four, was introduced in place of Endo against Sunderland and may be asked to occupy that position for the foreseeable future. Calvin Ramsay is another option, but he has made just one appearance for the Reds this season.

Curtis Jones is another natural midfielder that has dropped back into defence at times, and he would be a better ball-playing option for Slot to consider as Liverpool look to play their way through the lines.

Slot has the option of shuffling his pack for an FA Cup fourth-round clash with Brighton at Anfield on Saturday, with the Reds needing to decide where that competition sits on their list of priorities - given that they are also through to the last 16 of the Champions League.

Liverpool have become locked in a battle for top-four finishes this term, with back-to-back title triumphs being ruled out of the equation, and have 12 Premier League fixtures left to take in.

They sit sixth in the table as things stand, three points back on fourth-placed Manchester United. Slot is aware of the pressure that he is under to deliver qualification for elite European competition in 2026-27.

It has been suggested that missing out on Champions League football could cost the Dutchman his job - a year out from delivering title glory in his debut campaign at the helm. There has been talk of Jurgen Klopp making an emotional return to Merseyside - although the German has sought to distance himself from rumours suggesting that he is ready to leave a role as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull and retrace steps to the dugout.