Liverpool have been dealt a blow with highly-rated defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe blocked from playing a minute for the club this season.The 18-year-old impressed on his unofficial Reds debut, featuring in the 4-2 pre-season win over Sunderland last weekend.Ndukwe showcased his potential in Nashville as Liverpool beat SunderlandGettyThe centre-back completed a £2.6million move from Austria Vienna at the start of the year but didn’t officially arrive until this summer.Ndukwe was snapped up by Liverpool in January alongside fellow teenager Mor Talla Ndiaye following the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar.The pair were then tasked with forming a defensive partnership for Andoni Iraola’s first match after Joe Gomez suffered an early injury.Liverpool’s defensive injury issuesLiverpool are already down to the bare bones at the back, with captain Virgil van Dijk on an extended break following the World Cup.The 35-year-old has played more minutes for club and country than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues since June 2025.His ex-centre-back partner Ibrahima Konate has already left on a free transfer to Real Madrid, with Gomez now sustaining another injury.Giovanni Leoni is still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that he sustained on his Liverpool debut last September.Meanwhile, new signing Jeremy Jacquet was also left out of the squad against Sunderland due to concerns over a shoulder issue.However, Ndukwe won’t have the opportunity to stake a claim to be an immediate part of Iraola’s plans regardless of how well he plays.Gomez’s injury opened the door for Ndukwe to make his unofficial Reds debutGettyWhy Ndukwe cannot play for Liverpool this seasonAs per the Athletic, the Austria youth international doesn’t meet the required points total to get a work permit in the UK.Before Brexit in January 2020, Ndukwe would have been able to qualify for such a permit due to his country being part of the EU.But now, Liverpool will have little choice but to send Ndukwe out on loan for the 2026/27 campaign for him to get first-team football.The Reds are currently based in the USA for the start of their pre-season, with upcoming matches against Wrexham and Leeds United.Ndukwe will be available to appear in both of these friendlies, but won’t be included for the Premier League opener away at Newcastle.Ndukwe did not officially make the switch to Anfield until JuneGettyWhat are the Premier League work permit rules?England’s top-flight and EFL clubs know that any player signed from overseas must qualify for a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE).The points-based system determines eligibility using a number of factors, including the quality of the league they were playing in before and their experience at both club and international level.Players with 15 points or more are granted work permits, with those with 10-14 points subject to appeal.Anyone with fewer than 10 points can be signed but can’t play; such was the case when £50million Manchester United star Andrey Santos first joined Chelsea, but returned on loan to Vasco da Gama.In Liverpool’s case, Ndukwe has only made one first-team appearance in the Austrian league, which sits 20th in UEFA’s coefficient ranking.He is also yet to earn a senior international cap, having only played three times for his country’s Under-19 team.