Giovanni Leoni is still working back from a long-term injury, but Liverpool now have two midfield returns moving closer. Andoni Iraola said Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic are both near full availability, a small shift that matters because Liverpool’s centre-back cover has already been stretched.
“Stefan [Bajcetic] is training basically fully with the team,” Iraola said to LFCTV. He also said, “Wataru [Endo] has started training more progressively but [is] very close to being ready,” then added, “I hope Wata [Endo] can play probably against Monaco. He should be able to have some minutes.”
AXA Training Centre returns
Endo and Bajcetic will not face Leeds United in the final preseason tour game of America, so the next practical checkpoint is whether Endo can get minutes against Monaco. That gives Liverpool a chance to restore one experienced option in midfield while Bajcetic continues to build toward a full return after more than a year out, following surgery on his hamstring.
The timing helps because Virgil van Dijk has returned to training on Merseyside, but the defensive picture is still not clean. Joe Gomez’s recent injury has added to Liverpool’s centre-back problems, Jeremy Jacquet’s availability over the coming days is uncertain, and Giovanni Leoni is only ramping up his own comeback.
Merseyside depth pressure
Alexis Mac Allister is expected to return in the next week, which means Liverpool may soon recover bodies across several lines at once. Even so, the value of Endo’s potential minutes against Monaco is straightforward: it lets Liverpool share the workload rather than leaning on a depleted core for one more match.
For Liverpool, the immediate read is simple. Endo looks closest to providing live minutes, Bajcetic is back in near-full training, and Leoni remains the longer-view recovery as the squad tries to claw back depth without forcing anyone back too quickly.
