Liverpool’s Injury Concerns Ahead of Brighton Clash
Liverpool’s £123m summer statement signing faces a race against time to be ready for Brighton – and his absence is already reshaping Andoni Iraola’s plans for a pivotal Anfield run.
The French winger, an ever-present in the Premier League since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain, was one of four senior players not seen in Thursday’s open training session, broadcast by Sky Sports. Club guidance is that he followed an individual programme away from the main group, but his involvement on Sunday is now a genuine question for Iraola to answer in his pre-Brighton press conference.
For a player who has barely missed a beat since landing on Merseyside, the timing is awkward. Liverpool are about to embark on a demanding stretch: Brighton in the league on Sunday, Chelsea in the Carabao Cup last 16 next Wednesday, and then a meeting with reigning champions Arsenal at the start of November. Villarreal have already been brushed aside in the Champions League. Anfield is bracing for four straight home games across three competitions. This is the phase of a season that can set a tone.
Wide-open flanks, simple call through the middle
If the Frenchman does not make it, the wings become the most intriguing part of Iraola’s team sheet.
Rio Ngumoha and Cody Gakpo both caught the eye in midweek, forcing their way into the conversation. Ngumoha brings raw, fearless running; Gakpo offers cleaner, more mature final-third decisions. Both did enough to make the head coach pause before scribbling down his front line.
Through the middle, though, the decision looks far more straightforward. Alexander Isak for Lewis Koumas feels like the natural change. Koumas has offered energy and honesty, but Isak is the senior striker, the reference point around whom Liverpool can build attacks, especially against a Brighton side that will test defensive concentration and punish wastefulness.
The Frenchman’s late withdrawal earlier in the week already cost him Tuesday night’s action. Whether he can return in time for Brighton will shape not only Iraola’s starting XI, but the way Liverpool attack a fixture they simply cannot afford to drift through.
Wirtz knocking, midfield shuffling
There is another selection headache brewing behind the front line.
Florian Wirtz, used from the bench in midweek, responded with exactly what coaches want from a substitute: a goal and a reminder. He is pushing hard for a recall, and the most logical casualty is Trey Nyoni.
If Wirtz comes back in, the domino effect is clear. Ryan Gravenberch can slide into a more natural central midfield role, where his power and ability to carry the ball from deep become more pronounced. Alexis Mac Allister would then anchor alongside him, knitting play together and dictating tempo from the middle rather than being forced into too many firefights higher up.
That small shift changes the entire feel of Liverpool’s midfield: less improvised, more balanced, and better equipped to control Brighton’s rotations between the lines.
Injury list grows at the wrong time
Not all of Iraola’s decisions are tactical. Some are simply enforced.
Dominik Szoboszlai is expected to miss the Brighton game with a hamstring problem, stripping Liverpool of one of their most dynamic runners from midfield and a regular source of long-range threat. Jeremie Frimpong’s muscle issue is set to keep him out for around a month, depriving the side of blistering pace and width on the flank.
They join Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley on the sidelines, a cluster of absences that chips away at the depth Iraola might have leaned on during this congested spell.
So the picture is clear enough. A £123m star working alone away from the group. Form players pushing for minutes. Key creators and runners watching from the stands. Anfield hosting three competitions in quick succession.
Brighton arrive first. The team sheet will tell its own story about how Iraola plans to navigate the storm.
