Fitness Update as Preseason Winds Down

Though Joe Gomez was forced off during his first preseason appearance and will face some recovery time, head coach Andoni Iraola hopes he will be a short term absentee. Speaking back on July 30th, Iraola estimated a month absence: “Joe has a muscle injury. I think it was quite clear since he complained straight away, so it will depend how he evolves, but he will be some weeks off. It’s a muscle injury and [with] muscle injuries it is difficult to say one day, but normally I always put myself as one month,”

he said.

“If it goes very good the injury is a little bit less, if [not] it goes a little more,” he continued. “It’s not massive, it’s a normal muscle injury, [but] I think it’s going to be impossible to have him for the start of the season because we are not so far [away]. It shouldn’t be a lot more.”

Jeremie Frimpong’s substitution in the Chicago friendly was described by Iraola as precautionary in regards to workload rather than due to injury, though it may be important to note that the substitution was initiated by the player rather than the coaching or fitness teams.

In terms of our longer-term injuries, Stefan Bajčetić and Wataru Endō have increased their training and are both close to a return.

Per Iraola: “Stefan is training basically fully with the team. Wataru has started training more progressively but [is] very close to being ready. I hope Wata can play probably against Monaco. He should be able to have some minutes.”

On the other hand, Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké, and Giovanni Leoni are not expected to return in short order, and are still completing their rehab work. Iraola avoided specifics, but did set expectations: “In terms of order, I think the closest one to returning is Leoni. After will be Conor and Hugo. But especially the last two are still way off, we are talking about months and still a lot of time out.”

In terms of new signings, Jeremy Jacquet has yet to feature due to “discomfort” in training — though it’s perhaps worth noting that Iraola had not ruled out him featuring in Chicago pre-match, so we can hope the boss is acting with an abundance of caution.

Our other new signing, Víctor Muñoz, is a part of the returning World Cup contingent, all of whom are expected to be back in the fold soon. Muñoz and Alisson will be available from “the first day” of training back at the club’s home base, with Muñoz seemingly choosing to cut his afforded holiday short to prioritize adjusting to a new club.

Alexis Mac Allister, whose Argentina side lost the final to Muñoz’s Spain, will be Liverpool’s last returner, with Iraola expecting the midfielder after the Monaco friendly on Sunday, August 9th. Unlike Muñoz, Mac Allister clocked a lot of minutes at the World Cup, and his physical and mental fitness will likely benefit from the full break.

Liverpool will certainly not be the only club adjusting to a post-World Cup preseason, and will hope to have more positives than negatives. Certainly having a full preseason with Alexander Isak should benefit the player, who was just coming into the team when injury ruled him out last season. That said, most are hoping for more new signings due to the thin nature of the squad, so there’s a lot of weight on the core group being at peak preparedness for the new coach’s plans to start the season.