You could hear the sound of every Liverpool supporters’ heart breaking on Wednesday as Wataru Endo was stretchered from the field at the Stadium of Light.
The tenacious Japanese midfielder has become a real fan favourite since his unheralded arrival in 2023, winning them over with his committed, dogged displays.
Wednesday will go down as one of the finest examples of that from Endo at Liverpool, as he gamely stepped up to provide an answer to the Reds’ right-back problems.
Change my mind: Liverpool would be CRAZY to let Konate leave 😣
He is back to his best!
Ibrahima Konate battles with Brian Brobbey during Liverpool's Premier League match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light (Credit: Getty Images/Stu Forster).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Stu Forster
Unfortunately, luck has not been with him all the time at Liverpool, and this was evident once again as he picked up what Arne Slot later called a ‘serious’ injury.
It was fitting that the problem was sustained during a crucial piece of last-ditch defending from Endo, but as he stretched to clear a dangerous ball into the box, the 33-year-old may have provided his final kick in a Liverpool shirt.
Wataru Endo may be out for the season
Endo had genuinely looked like he could be set for a run in the team at right-back after shutting down arguably Sunderland’s most lively player in Nilson Angulo.
But, sadly, fate had other plans, and as Slot confirmed immediately after the game, Endo is likely to be set for an extended spell on the sidelines.
Liverpool's Wataru Endo battles with Nilson Angulo of Sunderland for the ball during the Premier League match at the Stadium of Light
Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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“I assume he will be out for a long, long time,” said the Liverpool head coach. “What is long, it is difficult to say at this moment but you can hardly believe what this right full-back position brings us this season.”
While it is possible that Endo recovers in time for the end of the season, that is now only three months away.
A ‘long, long time’ would suggest that the No. 3 is not going to make it, and with a potential summer exit looming, his Liverpool career may effectively be over.
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The Japanese may have played his last game for the Reds 😥
Liverpool's Wataru Endo pictured during the Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (Credit: Getty Images/Crystal Pix/MB Media).
Javier Mascherano sits on the pitch during Liverpool's Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (Credit: GLYN KIRK/AFP
Credit: Photo Credit: Getty Images/Crystal Pix/MB Media/Glyn Kirk/AFP
Endo likely to leave this summer
This is not the first injury Endo has picked up this season, but regardless of any fitness issues, he will not be happy to have made only 12 appearances in 2025/26.
With Slot still not fully trusting the former Stuttgart man, it has felt as though Endo is drifting towards the Anfield exit door.
He will still have one year left on the contract he signed in 2023 come this summer, but now 33 and having tasted the highs of life at Liverpool for three years, Endo will surely have his eye on more regular football.
There is a chance the injury could change that. If the Japan international is not fit until after the start of next season, for example, potential buyers could be put off. That would be a bad scenario for Endo, however, who looks unlikely to be able to force his way back into Slot’s plans.
So, unless the issue puts him out for somewhere close to a year – which seems unlikely – we think Endo is destined to have played his last game for Liverpool.
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