Andoni Iraola's Premier League Challenge: Liverpool's Injury Crisis

Andoni Iraola’s first competitive game as Liverpool head coach comes with a familiar Premier League backdrop and a very unfamiliar problem: a growing injury list before a ball has even been kicked in anger.

Liverpool open their season against Newcastle United on Sunday with several key names missing and others being nursed through the early weeks. Recruitment has been restrained, so the same core of players used heavily in pre-season will be asked to go again.

One of those is Alexander Isak.

Isak to carry the load

Since returning from the World Cup with Sweden, Isak has featured prominently in Liverpool’s warm-up fixtures, starting the last three friendlies and looking sharp. Concerns over his fitness have lingered after the issues he faced in his first campaign at Anfield, but Iraola moved to calm fears on Friday.

“I think the same as others, an important player for us, in a very good place. Training every day, adding minutes, played a good World Cup with Sweden, fitness levels,” the Liverpool boss said.

“I want to keep him there as much as we can. We know his level, he will score the goals. He will give us a lot of things. My fight with him, the instructions, is off the ball. He wants to score but I try not to judge the strikers if they have or haven't scored.”

With only one fixture roughly every week in the opening stretch, Liverpool believe they can manage his workload. They may have little choice. Hugo Ekitike’s long-term Achilles injury means the 26-year-old Isak is set to shoulder the attacking burden for at least the first few months of the season.

Gomez blow disrupts early plans

At the other end of the pitch, Joe Gomez’s pre-season was cut short almost as soon as it began. The defender was forced off just 10 minutes into Liverpool’s friendly against Sunderland last month with a muscle problem, immediately casting doubt over his availability for the start of the campaign.

“Joe will be some weeks off. It's a muscle injury... it is difficult to say [how long], but normally, I always put myself as one month,” Iraola explained.

“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.”

Liverpool expect Gomez to miss the opening fixtures, with a potential return pencilled in for the trip to Ipswich Town on Friday, September 4. Until then, Iraola will have to reshuffle his defensive options.

Long road back for Ekitike and Bradley

The more serious problems lie with Ekitike and Conor Bradley. Both are deep into long rehabilitation processes and will not be seen in competitive action for some time.

Ekitike ruptured his Achilles in April, a devastating setback that will keep him out for months. When asked for an update in July, Iraola did not sugar-coat the situation.

“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.”

Liverpool are working on the assumption that Ekitike will not be available until November or December at the earliest.

Bradley’s story is similarly brutal. The full-back suffered a serious knee injury earlier in 2026, ruling him out for the bulk of the calendar year. Despite the fact his problem came before Ekitike’s, the timelines for their comebacks are broadly aligned.

Iraola’s verdict remains the same: Leoni first, then Bradley and Ekitike, both “still way off” and measured in months rather than weeks. Like Ekitike, Bradley is being tentatively targeted for a return in November or December.

Leoni edging closer

There is at least one shaft of light for Iraola. Giovanni Leoni is on the home straight of a gruelling recovery from an ACL injury that has cost him almost an entire year of football.

Again, Iraola set out the order of returns clearly: “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.”

Leoni is expected back ahead of both Bradley and Ekitike, though his comeback will still be carefully managed after such a long lay-off.

So Iraola walks into his first Premier League game at Anfield with Isak as his spearhead, Gomez watching on, and three long-term absentees still counting down the months. How he navigates this early storm will say plenty about what kind of Liverpool side is taking shape under his watch.