Liverpool got what they travelled for at the Stadium of Light. Three points, a clean sheet, and just enough control to keep their season moving in the right direction.
But the final whistle didn’t bring relief. It brought that sinking feeling every Liverpool fan knows too well this season. Another player down. Another problem in a position that already feels cursed.
Wataru Endo, handed an unexpected Premier League start at right back, was stretchered off during the second half of the 1–0 win over Sunderland. And the early noise from Arne Slot suggests this is not a short spell on the treatment table.
Slot didn’t dress it up afterwards. He said Endo’s injury “doesn’t look good” and he expects him to be out “for quite a long time.” That is the type of wording managers use when they have already seen enough to worry, even before the full scans land.
How it happened: one interception, one awkward landing, one ugly moment
Endo’s night turned in an instant. He made a smart interception at the back post and then came down awkwardly, his foot appearing to get trapped under him in a way that immediately looked wrong.
At first there was confusion. Endo received treatment and, to everyone’s surprise, tried to continue. That brief moment gave Liverpool fans a bit of hope that it was just painful rather than serious. Then reality caught up.
He soon needed further attention, and this time there was no hiding it. Endo was in visible agony. Medics treated him on the pitch, and he was eventually taken off on a stretcher with a brace applied to his leg. Joe Gomez came on to see the game out and Liverpool managed to protect their lead.
The image was a tough one because Endo has not been a regular starter in the league this season. When he finally gets his chance, it ends like this. Michael Owen, watching from the studio, basically said what every viewer thought the moment they saw the replay: this did not look like “one of those you shake off.”
He also pointed to the human side of it. Endo doesn’t get many chances. When one arrives, he’s desperate to make it count. That’s why he tried to play on. Not because the injury was fine, but because the player’s mindset refused to accept the moment.
Slot echoed that theme too, praising Endo’s mentality for staying on the pitch long enough to help defend a set piece even after he was clearly struggling. That detail matters. It tells you the player was fighting through it, and it also hints at how serious it might be if he still couldn’t continue.
Why this is bigger than one injury
On most teams, an injury to a utility option is painful but manageable. For Liverpool right now, it’s a punch to the exact part of the squad that is already bleeding.
Endo was only at right back because Liverpool’s first choices have been unavailable. Conor Bradley is already out. Jeremie Frimpong is also sidelined. Dominik Szoboszlai has been used there this season but was unavailable this week. Gomez has only just returned from his own fitness issues and wasn’t expected to start.
So Endo wasn’t an experiment. He was the solution Slot could reach for on the night.
Now that solution is gone, and Liverpool are back to juggling again.
This is why the Endo injury hits differently. It isn’t just “one more injury” in a busy season. It narrows Slot’s options even further, and it forces more improvisation in a role that impacts the whole team structure.
Right back is not a position you can keep patching without consequences. It affects your build up, your pressing triggers, your cover on counters, and even how your right winger plays. When that position becomes a weekly rotation of emergency solutions, the whole system starts to wobble.
The right back “curse” talk is getting louder for a reason
Some pundits will avoid calling it a curse, but the pattern is hard to ignore. Liverpool have been throwing bodies into that role all season, and it keeps biting them.
Shaun Wright Phillips described it as a worrying situation, and he’s not wrong. Liverpool are now dealing with the kind of injury chain that clubs hate because it creates domino effects. One absence forces a workaround, the workaround gets injured, and suddenly you’re relying on the next workaround.
Slot has already had to use multiple players there this season, and Endo became the latest name to start on the right side of defence. That tells you everything about how stretched Liverpool are.
What happens next: Brighton, Endo update, and another shuffle
The immediate focus now switches to the FA Cup tie against Brighton. Slot is expected to give an update on Endo before that match, and the wording will matter. If the club confirms ankle damage or a serious foot issue, Liverpool could be looking at weeks, not days.
In the short term, Gomez looks like the natural option to cover minutes if he is physically ready to play more regularly. If Frimpong is close to returning, Liverpool will be praying that his comeback stays on track because the squad needs a specialist back in that role.
If neither happens quickly, Slot may have to go back to the “out of position” plan again, which always comes with trade offs.
Liverpool got the points, but the price keeps rising
There’s a strange rhythm to Liverpool’s season at the moment. They fight through problems, they scrape results, and then the injury list adds another name.
Wednesday night should have been a simple story: difficult away win, clean sheet, and a platform to build on.
Instead, it ended with Endo being carried off and Slot admitting it “doesn’t look good.”
Liverpool can survive one more shuffle, but the question is how many shuffles a season can take before it finally snaps.
