Injury setback compounds frustrating start to season for Harvey Elliott

As we watched Harvey Elliott overtake Dominik Szoboszlai in the Starting XI down the stretch of last season, many thought he was finally coming into his own as professional.

He was scoring great goals and playing an influential role for the team while on the pitch and it was wonderful to see. He carried this momentum into the summer where we came ready to roll on Day 1 of the Arne Slot era.

He was arguably Liverpool's best player during the preseason and there were several fans and media, myself included, that were expecting big things from the lad this season.

New season, no role?

His technical ability on the ball fits very well with what Slot likes to do so it looked like a match made in heaven. Yet, when the 2024/25 Premier League season kicked off for Liverpool away to Ipswich, we would scarcely see a glimpse of our No. 19.

Through three matches he has played a measely seven minutes of action off the bench. It has been a stunning turn of events for a player that at worst was seen as a super sub option each game.

Yes, Szoboszlai has been playing well in the No. 10 role for the Reds which is great to see, but that does not fully justify one of our most versatile players being shut out of any minutes. It's odd as Elliott is a player that can play across the attacking midfield, deeper in a No. 8 role or on the wing.

Yet, Slot had relegated him to a reserve role in what is supposed to be his true breakout season at Anfield.

Still uber talented, he was called up for England U21 duty where he is one of their most dynamic players at that level of football.

Poor injury luck at the worst time

As it were, Elliott felt discomfort in his foot while training with the England U21 group and upon his early return to Liverpool, a foot fracture was confirmed.

The injury will see him out until late October at the earliest as he wants to be ready for Chelsea on Oct. 20 following the next international break. Let's hope he can get there.

Not only is this frustrating for Elliott himself, but Slot will surely be irritated as the Reds fixture list is about to pick up majorly over the next few weeks as we see the Champions League and League Cup campaigns both begin for Liverpool in the coming days.

There would have been plenty of chances for Elliott to make his impact felt and reinforce his significance and importance to the club.

He will miss at least 4 Premier League matches, 2 Champions League matches and a League Cup clash versus West Ham. Ideally, he will come back stronger and better than ever just as he did following his ugly leg injury against Chelsea.

However, that's for the future but in this moment, this injury just piles on what has been a less than ideal beginning to the new season for one of our brightest young talents.

Let's hope he rises above the adversity once again.