Liverpool Injury Update: Gomez Close to Return, Chiesa and Leoni Target October
Liverpool finally have a win on the board under Andoni Iraola. Now they need bodies back.
A 2-0 victory at Ipswich on Friday, sealed by an Alexander Isak brace at Portman Road, gave the new manager his first competitive success in charge. The reward is a Champions League opener at Anfield on Wednesday against Atletico Madrid – and the hope that the treatment room might just start to clear.
Most of Iraola’s absentees remain long-term concerns, but there is at least one defender edging towards a return.
Joe Gomez
Gomez’s summer barely got going before it stalled. He lasted only 10 minutes of Liverpool’s first pre-season friendly before a muscle problem forced him off, and Iraola initially braced supporters for a spell without him.
“He will be some weeks off,” the Liverpool boss said after the Sunderland game in Nashville. “It's a muscle injury and [with] muscle injuries it is difficult to say one day, but normally I always put [it] as one month.”
That timeline is now almost up.
Before the trip to Ipswich, Iraola delivered the update Liverpool wanted to hear: “Joe will probably start training with us next week, and it has gone normally. The recovery from a muscle injury – more or less, we were expecting the time on this. I hope we can have him before the break, let’s say.”
If all goes to plan, Gomez should be back in contention shortly after the international break.
Potential return date: September 12 vs Fulham (H)
Federico Chiesa
Federico Chiesa’s Liverpool career is still waiting for lift-off.
The Italian forward has missed the opening three games of the season with a muscle issue, having “twanged” something in his back during a pre-season friendly against Como. Any hopes of a quick fix have faded; Liverpool are working to an October schedule.
“I think even Fede should be around those dates [after the international break],” Iraola said last week, pointing towards a return in the early part of next month rather than any dramatic early comeback.
With a home clash against champions Man City on the horizon, Liverpool would dearly love to have his cutting edge available by then.
Potential return date: October 11 vs Man City (H)
Hugo Ekitike
Hugo Ekitike’s debut campaign was lighting up before it was brutally cut short.
The striker ruptured his Achilles tendon in April, an injury that ended his season on the spot and has kept him sidelined ever since. Liverpool have been careful not to pin him to a specific date, but Iraola sounded an optimistic note about seeing him again before the year is out.
“Hugo will go [later this year],” the Reds’ boss said last week, indicating that the French international is still on a long road but moving in the right direction.
For now, though, this remains one of the club’s most delicate rehabilitations.
Potential return date: Late 2026
Conor Bradley
Conor Bradley’s year turned sour in January.
The right-back suffered an injury against Arsenal and has not played since, undergoing surgery and embarking on a lengthy recovery. The Northern Ireland international is still some way from a return but is at least back on a path that Liverpool can map out.
Iraola believes Bradley could be back before Ekitike, and has hinted that his comeback may not be too far behind Chiesa’s in the overall schedule.
Potential return date: Late 2026
Giovanni Leoni
Giovanni Leoni has had to be patient. Very patient.
The Italian youngster tore his ACL on debut against Southampton a year ago and has not featured since. For a player trying to establish himself, it has been a brutal wait, but the end of it is finally in sight.
“I think the plan is also to start training during the [international] break, with the group,” Iraola said last week, speaking before the win at Ipswich. That step would mark a major milestone in his recovery and put him on track for a competitive return next month.
Potential return date: October 11 vs Man City (H)
Liverpool’s squad is still carrying scars from last season and pre-season, but the picture is slowly shifting. If Gomez steps back in after the break and Chiesa and Leoni follow in October, Iraola’s options could look very different by the time Man City arrive at Anfield – just as the campaign begins to harden into shape.
