Ekitike's Champions League Chance Amid Chiesa and Endo's Omission
Hugo Ekitike has not kicked a ball for Liverpool since rupturing his Achilles in April. His season looked like a write-off, his Liverpool story stuck on pause.
Andoni Iraola has just changed the script.
The Liverpool manager has named the 22-year-old French striker in his 25-man Champions League squad, a bold call for a player still working his way back from major surgery and without a public return date. The club confirmed on September 3 that there is no official timeframe on Ekitike’s comeback, yet his name sits there on the European list, inked in for the League Phase.
That tells its own story.
A bet on Ekitike’s recovery
Liverpool’s medical team have taken the cautious line in public. Successful operation, steady rehab, no promises. Achilles injuries are unforgiving, especially for explosive forwards. Clubs usually protect themselves, and the player, from expectation.
Iraola has gone the other way. He has gambled a valuable Champions League slot on the belief that Ekitike will be ready to contribute before the League Phase ends, with Liverpool’s final group game at Anfield against RC Lens on January 27.
You don’t carry a long-term absentee in a 25-man European squad unless you think he will matter. Not at this level. Not with the competition for places Liverpool have.
Ekitike’s inclusion is a clear signal: the manager expects him back on the pitch this season, and not just in dead minutes. He sees a role for the Frenchman when the stakes are high.
Chiesa and Endo left out in the cold
The optimism around Ekitike stands in stark contrast to the fate of two senior names. Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo have both been omitted from the Champions League squad, a decision that cuts deep into their status at the club.
Chiesa is currently sidelined, but his situation is very different. The Italian winger is expected to return to training after the September international break. On fitness grounds alone, he could have been a logical inclusion. Iraola still left him out.
That choice hints at something more structural. Even when Chiesa is back running on the grass at Kirkby, he will be doing so knowing his European season with Liverpool is effectively over unless injuries open a door in later registration windows.
Endo’s case is even more brutal. The Japan international is fully fit, available, and training, yet he has been overlooked entirely. This is not about recovery timelines or medical risk. It is about trust.
Iraola has made it plain: in the battles that matter most, he does not see Endo as part of his core group. For a senior defensive midfielder, that is a harsh, unmistakable message.
Futures in doubt
The Champions League list often exposes the hierarchy inside a squad more starkly than any press conference. Ekitike, still rehabbing from a ruptured Achilles, is in. Chiesa and Endo, both capable of contributing far sooner, are out.
That points towards a bleak short-term outlook for the pair at Anfield. If they are not in the European picture and sit behind others in the Premier League pecking order, minutes will be scarce. Match rhythm disappears. Reputations fade.
Jamie Carragher had already put a spotlight on the issue. Speaking on The Overlap, the former Liverpool defender did not sugarcoat his view of their situation, arguing that Chiesa and Endo “are never going to play” and even suggesting Endo “should have been moved on”, while acknowledging the midfielder’s cult-hero status among some supporters.
Iraola’s decision has now given those comments sharp context. This is not just punditry. It is reflected in official squad paperwork.
For Ekitike, the Champions League squad list represents faith and opportunity after months of frustration. For Chiesa and Endo, it feels like the start of a long winter.
