Liverpool have been handed some encouraging news regarding one player who’s recently been sidelined by injury.
In the final week of August, James McConnell saw his plans for a loan move this season scuppered by an ankle problem (The Athletic), with the young midfielder having attracted plenty of interest from clubs in the Championship.
However, the 20-year-old mightn’t have to wait much longer to get back in action for the Reds, following an update which emerged on Saturday.
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Journalist shares projected McConnell return date
Taking to X, Lewis Bower – who provides independent coverage of Liverpool’s academy – posted news on McConnell’s recovery from that ankle injury, with the midfielder now expected to return by the end of October.
The journalist outlined: “I’m told reliably that #LFC midfielder James McConnell is due back in ‘a couple of weeks’.”
I’m told reliably that #LFC midfielder James McConnell is due back in ‘a couple of weeks’.
— Lewis Bower (@LewisBower2021) October 12, 2024
McConnell likely to eye January loan move
The timing of the injury could hardly have been worse for McConnell, who almost certainly would’ve secured a loan move in the final week of the summer transfer window had it not been for that body blow.
No longer a teenager and having made nine senior Liverpool appearances last season, the midfielder would’ve been yearning for a prolonged taste of first-team football in 2024/25.
If he can remain injury-free for the remainder of this calendar year, though, the 20-year-old might yet earn a crack on loan at a team in the Championship, where the likes of Ben Doak, Kaide Gordon, Harvey Blair, Lewis Koumas and Owen Beck are plying their trade in temporary moves from Anfield.
Hopefully McConnell will be back in action for the Reds’ under-21 side by the end of this month, and if things go well he might just earn senior game-time from Arne Slot before being loaned out in January to a club where he’d enjoy plenty of first-team minutes.