Liverpool's Transfer Window Leaves Questions: Injury Updates on Ekitike, Leoni, and Bradley

Liverpool’s transfer window closed with more questions than answers. The squad is set, but it hardly feels settled.

No right-sided winger. No extra midfielder. No new right-back. A late push to prise Malo Gusto from Chelsea on loan came to nothing, with the London club unwilling to sanction a cheap deal for a player capable of covering both full-back and central areas. Liverpool were left exactly where they started: short in key positions and forced to look inward.

Treatment Room Focus

So the focus turns to the treatment room.

According to The Times, Liverpool expect Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley all to play a “chunk” of this season. For a club juggling gaps across the pitch, that single word changes the mood.

All three have been out for a long time. Ekitike’s lay-off is the most recent, yet even his absence stretches back to April. Bradley has not featured since the very start of the year. Leoni has been missing since last September, edging towards a full year on the sidelines.

These aren’t minor knocks. They’re the kind of serious injuries that blur timelines and cloud expectations. Liverpool have never been able to pin down firm return dates, and there’s no guarantee what level any of the three will hit when they do step back on the grass. For them, the first minutes back will be just another stage of rehab, not a sudden leap to full throttle.

That’s why the suggestion that each could still play a meaningful portion of the campaign feels significant. A “chunk” implies more than a token cameo. It hints at weeks, maybe months, of contribution at a time when the squad badly needs reinforcements from within.

Player Updates

Leoni is the closest. The defender is expected back in contention soon, though Liverpool will not rush him after such a long spell out. The plan is caution, not desperation.

Ekitike looks a little further away. His return is more likely to edge towards the Christmas period, but there is still confidence he will have a role to play before the season is out. For a forward line that missed out on that extra right-sided option, even a phased reintroduction could matter.

Then there is Bradley, the great unknown. Updates on his condition have been scarce, and there remains uncertainty around both the full extent of his problem and a realistic recovery date. The club’s attempt to bring in another right-back late in the window hardly screamed optimism about his short-term prospects.

Yet The Times’ line that Bradley, too, could feature for a “chunk” of the season cuts through some of that gloom. If Liverpool can get him back on the pitch and contributing, it changes the complexion of a position that currently looks thin and vulnerable.

The squad is what it is now. No more signings. No late rescues. For Liverpool, the next wave of help has to come from Ekitike, Leoni and Bradley stepping out of the shadows and back into the season.