Liverpool hit with Champions League restriction as insult added to injury

Liverpool’s preparations for the Champions League knockout phase have been dealt a double setback after manager Arne Slot learned that long-term casualty Wataru Endo cannot be replaced in the club’s European squad, leaving the Reds with only 19 senior players for the remainder of the competition.

Endo was stretchered off during the 1-0 FA Cup win over Sunderland earlier this month after filling in at right-back, a position already decimated by injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong. Slot later conceded the 33-year-old Japan international faces “a long, long time” on the sidelines, but UEFA regulations mean Liverpool must soldier on without the option of adding fresh reinforcements.

Article 31.14.c of the competition rules permits only one outfield change for long-term injury or illness, and only during the first six matchdays of the league phase, which concluded in December. Liverpool utilised that allowance in the autumn when Giovanni Leoni’s ACL rupture opened the door for Federico Chiesa’s inclusion. Because Endo’s injury was sustained after the knockout-phase squad submission deadline, the club cannot apply for a further exemption.

The restriction bites harder given Liverpool’s shallow options at right-back. Calvin Ramsay, currently on the books, would theoretically provide cover, but quota requirements for locally trained players render his registration impossible. As a result, Slot must navigate the last-16 tie—and any potential quarter-final—without the flexibility to bolster his ranks with a senior replacement.

The Merseysiders, battling to regain a top-four place domestically, may yet view a prolonged European run as their most direct route back into next season’s Champions League. The draw on 27 February will pair them with one of Atlético Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray or Juventus, with the first legs scheduled for next month.

There remains a glimmer of hope that Alexander Isak could return should Liverpool reach the quarter-finals, pencilled in for 7–15 April, but for now Slot’s injury-hit squad will have to defy both opponents and regulations if they are to keep their continental dream alive.