The good news is that none of the injuries are serious. They might not even be injuries, really. But that doesn’t mean Bradley Barcola and Cody Gakpo will be fit and ready to face Fulham when the Reds face off against them in the Premier League.
Ahead of the match, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola addressed the duo, with Barcola cramping up in the second half against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday and needing to come off while Gakpo missed the game largely as a precautionary measure due to adductor soreness.
“We still need to train, but yes, Barcola was just cramps,” Iraola said when asked about the potential availability of this summer’s blockbuster winger signing for Saturday’s game. “Obviously he finished tight in the game and then we have to evaluate with how are things today—but there’s no injury.
“He should be available if everything goes normal and then for Cody we will see. He didn’t train yesterday. So today again we will try with him and let’s see if he’s ready for tomorrow or if we need to wait for the next one.”
If the duo both aren’t available, the next match is up quickly with Tottenham on Tuesday in the League Cup before a few days off ahead of a trip to face Iraola’s old club Bournemouth on Sunday, September 20th before the players head off for the international break.
In other injury news, Iraola also updated Hugo Ekitike’s status, though for the standout French striker the update amounts to no real news as despite the player being included in the club’s autumn European squad recently, he still isn’t likely to be in line to return until around the new year.
“We had a meeting with the medical department to analyse when we completed the list for the European games,” Iraola added. “There is a reasonable chance he could help us in the last two games of the group stages. but it’s still very early to say.
“It’s very early because it’s a long-term injury a a big part is the rehab, but if we decided to put him in there it is because there is a hope and we think a realistic chance that he can help us in January.”
