{"id":4569,"date":"2026-05-06T02:08:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T02:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=4569"},"modified":"2026-05-06T02:08:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T02:08:34","slug":"sixteen-players-could-miss-liverpool-vs-chelsea-as-major-injury-update-imminent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=4569","title":{"rendered":"Sixteen players could miss Liverpool vs Chelsea as major injury update imminent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_1cee89\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Arne Slot is waiting for an update on the fitness of his Liverpool players ahead of the Premier League clash against Manchester United<\/h2>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"33892218\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Alexander Isak of Liverpool\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/article33892218.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2272875807.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/article33892218.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_GettyImages-2272875807.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/article33892218.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_GettyImages-2272875807.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/article33892218.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2272875807.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Alexander Isak of Liverpool\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Alexander Isak of Liverpool<cite aria-label=\"Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA\/Getty Images\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt &#8211; AMA\/Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Liverpool are back in action on Saturday lunchtime with the Premier League visit of Chelsea. And the Reds are still waiting to discover exactly who they can call upon for the game against a team on a six-match losing streak in the top flight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Alexander Isak<\/strong> became Liverpool&#8217;s latest absentee when he sat out Sunday&#8217;s 3-2 defeat at Manchester United with a minor groin problem which Arne Slot is hopeful will result in only a brief spell on the sidelines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The big question for the Reds is whether <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Alisson Becker <\/strong>is able to return having missed the last eight games with a hamstring problem. With <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Giorgi Mamardashvili<\/strong> still out recovering from a nasty wound to his knee, third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman is on standby to again deputise between the sticks.<\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_1cee89\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\">Liverpool owner John Henry sends strong FSG message &#8211; &#8216;don&#8217;t settle for mediocrity&#8217;<\/span><\/span><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_1cee89\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\">Liverpool fans speak out on &#8216;completely unacceptable&#8217; season as club direction questioned<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Mohamed Salah<\/strong> is expected to remain unavailable after missing the Old Trafford clash with the hamstring problem that forced him to limp out of the win at Crystal Palace the previous weekend, although Liverpool anticipate him to be back in action before he departs at the end of the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Hugo Ekitike<\/strong> faces a long period of rehabilitation after undergoing surgery last month on the Achilles tendon rupture suffered against Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Conor Bradley<\/strong> is out for the season after a knee operation in January, while teenage centre-back <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Giovanni Leoni<\/strong> is also missing until the summer following ACL surgery in September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Wataru Endo<\/strong>meanwhile, is continuing to recover from an ankle operation he underwent in February and is edging nearer a return to full training. Youngsters <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Stefan Bajcetic<\/strong> and <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Jayden Dance<\/strong> haven&#8217;t featured in the Premier League this season and are unlikely to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">For Chelsea, <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Estevao<\/strong> and <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Jamie Gittens<\/strong> are out while goalkeeper<strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"> Robert Sanchez<\/strong> and teenage winger <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Jesse Derry<\/strong> could be missing after being forced off during the 3-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday with nasty head injuries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">There are also doubts over <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Pedro Neto<\/strong> and <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Alejandro Garnacho,<\/strong> who were absent against Forest due to fitness concerns. <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Mykhailo Mudryk<\/strong> is now 18 months into a four-year drugs ban imposed by the Football Association against which he is appealing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arne Slot is waiting for an update on the fitness of his Liverpool players ahead&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}