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Liverpool star Wataru Endo spoke about playing through an injury in the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea last week (February 25). The Japan international provided a brilliant performance for the entire 120 minutes in a narrow 1-0 win for the Reds against the Blues.
He said about the game (via DaveOCKOP on Twitter):
“It hurt, but I thought, I had no choice but to do it. I did it in pain.
“Both hamstrings felt like they were going to hang, but I managed to complete the 120 minutes. I came to this team for this kind of fight.”
Endo put in one of his best performances in a Liverpool shirt. He finished with 12 duels won, three clearances, four tackles and 12 recoveries against Chelsea. Manager Jurgen Klopp also heaped praise on the midfielder, saying after the game (via press conference):
"I'm pretty sure in three [or] four years Wataru will sign another long-term contract at Liverpool just because he might be 30 or 31 on his passport but he's not.
"He's a machine. He is footballing-wise exceptional. His defensive brain is outstanding. He gives us a lot of freedom for a lot of Live. Yeah, top development. Very helpful, very helpful."
Endo was spotted leaving the game with his foot covered in a protective boot. Subsequently, he missed the team's 3-0 win against Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round but is expected to join training soon.
After missing out on the likes of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in the summer transfer window, the Reds signed Endo from Vfb Stuttgart for £16 million. He has become a key addition at the base of the midfield for the side, with three goals and one assist in 29 appearances.
Liverpool injury update as Reds set to welcome back four key players
Liverpool fans have received some positive news, as Jurgen Klopp confirmed the availability of four stars ahead of their Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest. Darwin Nunez, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Andy Robertson are all in contention to feature at City Ground on Saturday, March 2.
Nunez and Szoboszlai have been out for close to a month. The former picked up a muscle injury against Brentford in February while the latter aggravated a hamstring injury against Chelsea in January. Endo and Robertson, meanwhile, missed the Southampton clash in midweek with little knocks and are expected to return to training soon.
However, Liverpool will still be without talismanic attacker Mohamed Salah. He also aggravated a hamstring issue he suffered with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, with a timetable for his return still uncertain.
