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Liverpool star requires oxygen as Arne Slot suffers nightmare injury blow

Liverpool beat Sunderland 10 in the Premier League in a deserved victory at the Stadium of Light but Arne Slot was dealt another serious injury blow as a Reds star had to be stretchered off

[Wataru Endo was stretchered off to add to Liverpool's injury woes]

Wataru Endo was stretchered off to add to Liverpool's injury woes(Image: ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images)

Wataru Endo was forced to withdraw from Liverpool's match against Sunderland on a stretcher after landing awkwardly while defending a cross. The Japan international appeared to go over on his ankle before managing to play on for a few more minutes.

But he soon realised he could no longer continue and went back down. Endo was eventually stretchered off after receiving lengthy medical treatment on the pitch, including pain relief and oxygen.

This comes as a huge blow for Arne Slot, with Endo's season already somewhat disrupted by injuries. In December, he sustained an ankle injury that ruled him out for seven games.

[FBL-ENG-PR-SUNDERLAND-LIVERPOOL]

Wataru Endo suffered a potentially serious injury(Image: Getty)

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After being named on the bench for the 1-1 draw with Burnley, Endo made his return from injury at the end of January in the 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth.

He played 55 minutes after coming on as a substitute and made his first Premier League start at Sunderland before his night turned sour.

"It looked a bad one [for Endo]," Ally McCoist said on commentary.

[Wataru Endo]

Wataru Endo was seen in tears on the pitch

Endo had to be replaced by the returning Joe Gomez, with the Reds still without regular rightback options Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley due to injury - the reason Endo was filling in at the Stadium of Light.

In addition to those mentioned, Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley and Alexander Isak remain sidelined with injury, while Dominik Szoboszlai was unavailable due to suspension.

Before the game, Slot made clear that Calvin Ramsay was not someone who would come into consideration to solve his right-back problem.

"In general, if you don't win a game, the players who aren't playing become the best players in the squad," he said.

"That's the same everywhere in the world. This is an example of that as well. I just want to protect all my players. I've chosen other players until now and that's also what I'm going to do tomorrow."

Ramsay started the League Cup defeat to Crystal Palace in October but has yet to feature in the Premier League since arriving from Aberdeen in the summer of 2022.

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