Liverpool midfielder misses out on matchday international squad ahead of Chelsea clash

Liverpool’s Wataru Endo has been left out of the matchday squad for Japan to face Australia.

The 31-year-old captained the side and played 90 minutes in the 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia but was rumoured to miss out of their clash with the Aussies due to ‘poor health’ as reported by Football Zone.

With Chelsea to come at Anfield this weekend in the league, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to make the bench. If not, there is also youngster Tyler Morton who could fill in as the back-up to Ryan Gravenberch who has assumed the starting role. It has been a frustrating campaign thus far for Endo, playing just 85 minutes across four appearances, with 82 of those minutes coming in the EFL Cup third-round win over West Ham United. Due to the form of Gravenberch, he has taken a backseat role this season, something which was far different to the one held under Jurgen Klopp in his first season in England.

With 44 appearances in all competitions, including 25 starts in the league and Europa League combined, he was a first choice under Klopp. However, his style of play differs from what Slot favours in his teams, leaving him to play second fiddle. With the amount of games set to come Liverpool’s way, he should enjoy minutes as the season progresses.

There were some reports last week of a potential move away in January, with Slot recently commenting on his lack of game time at the start of the new season. “I think that’s one of the most positive things I see in this team, that even if a player comes in five to seven minutes – such a big player, captain of his country coming in five minutes before the end – I sometimes at certain clubs or certain other teams I see then a player coming in a bit like, ‘You only use me for five or seven minutes?’ “But if you look at how Wata came in – how good he was on the ball but also the second balls he won – he had only in these seven minutes a very good impact. I think that tells you a lot about the team cohesion but definitely also about the person – in this situation, Wata. That with only playing five minutes he gives that performance, that says a lot about him as a person but also a lot about the team cohesion.”