9 months ago
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Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images
Liverpool reserve centre half Williams had joined the League One side in January in search of playing time.
Following a disappointing first half of the season at Aberdeen in Scotland that saw his season-long loan cut short after making just one first team appearance for The Dons, Rhys Williams headed to League One side Port Vale in January in search of playing time.
The 22-year-old has now once again returned to Liverpool, before making his first appearance for the lower league side and due to injury, with the player expected to miss significant time and a belief that he would be best served rehabilitating at his home club.
It’s another setback for Williams, who will always be fondly remembered for his role in 2020-21’s unlikely top four push alongside Nat Phillips—who has now joined Cardiff City on loan following disappointment at Celtic—but has struggled to establish himself since.
Loans to Swansea and Blackpool in 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively saw Williams follow up his surprise Liverpool season with a combined 24 first team appearances in the Championship. Aberdeen followed this year but proved to be a poor fit for the player.
Rehabilitation and a role in the reserves at Liverpool towards the end of the 2023-24 season should he regain fitness is the new plan. The club have not shared specifics of his injury, but back and calf problems hindered his chances at Aberdeen in the autumn.
