Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo have been left out of Liverpool’s 25-man squad for the Champions League league phase, confirmed on deadline day on 3 September.
In their place, head coach Andoni Iraola has kept faith with three players who are not currently fit: defender Giovanni Leoni, right-back Conor Bradley and striker Hugo Ekitike. All three were named despite ongoing recoveries from injury.
The reasoning behind Chiesa’s exclusion
Chiesa, the 28-year-old Italy winger, is nursing a muscle problem that kept him out of Liverpool’s opening two Premier League fixtures. The injury alone would not have ruled him out of the squad, but he finds himself behind the summer arrivals of Bradley Barcola and Victor Munoz in the pecking order on the wing.
It is the second season running that Chiesa has been initially omitted from the European squad. Last term he was later added following a long-term knee injury to Leoni, and a similar route back is not out of the question given the fitness of the trio Iraola has protected this time.
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Endo makes way for McConnell
Endo, the 33-year-old Japan captain, has been an unused substitute in Liverpool’s opening league games against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest. Academy midfielder James McConnell has taken his slot in the 25.
The exclusion of Endo, a mainstay of the squad since his 2023 arrival, is the clearest signal yet that his role under Iraola is diminishing. UEFA rules cap clubs at 25 players and only exempt under-21s who have been at the club for at least two seasons, which forced the head coach into a straight choice on the fringes of his midfield.
Iraola on the fitness picture
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s league game against Ipswich Town, Iraola set out timelines for the three injured players he did register.
Leoni, he said, could resume training during the September international break. Bradley and Ekitike, however, are further from a return. Ekitike, recovering from an Achilles rupture, is targeting a Boxing Day comeback according to the Liverpool Echo, meaning he could miss the bulk of Liverpool’s eight league phase matches.
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Iraola has kept the trio in the squad because clubs can only make three changes to their list once the league phase is under way, and losing them entirely for the group would leave Liverpool short at three positions of need.
Liverpool open their Champions League campaign against Atlético Madrid at Anfield on 9 September.
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