Up to 14 players could be missing from action when Brentford host Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday. Andoni Iraola is set to be without seven players as the Reds' injury problems persist, while Brentford have seven concerns of their own.
Liverpool's injury list grows
Iraola's side will be hoping to get back on track following a devastating defeat to Manchester City in their last Premier League match. The former Bournemouth boss had limited options to choose from with his strongest starting lineup savaged by injury.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo all missed the clash with City, and a return has not been ruled out. Speaking on Thursday, Iraola noted that it was too early to tell whether the trio would be fit in time to face the Bees.
The Spaniard's instinct was that the game would come too soon, but he would 'leave the chance open' with an opportunity to train on Friday available. Any return would be a boost, with Ryan Gravenberch suspended following his two yellow cards at Anfield on Sunday.
Long-term absentees and positive news
Outside of that, Liverpool still have a number of long-term injuries to deal with. Giovanni Leoni was expected to return to training during the last international break, but the club have had to be cautious over his integration.
"It's taking more time than we wanted," Iraola said. "The plan was to train with the team in this past international break [but] probably it's going to be in the next [one], so we've lost one month in the process. He has to be very confident; the rehab process has to be very careful with him, and we want to make sure once he comes to the team, he stays in a good place."
There was positive news about Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike, who are said to be progressing well. The former is nearing a return to training.
"They are both doing very well," Iraola explained. "I think they are in a good place. Conor is not so far from training with the group - not full training but doing some things. It's difficult [to give a timescale] when they've been injured for so long, but I think Conor is not very far from starting doing things with us."
Brentford's own fitness concerns
Keith Andrews has seven of his own concerns heading into the match in West London. Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade, Jannik Schuster and Nathan Collins are all in a race against time to prove themselves available in time for Saturday afternoon.
Schuster and Schade have trained on the grass during the week, but Andrews provided a cautious assessment of their involvement. That group are set for late fitness tests.
Antoni Milambo is still working his way to fitness after suffering a small knock on his comeback from injury, while Kaye Furo remains out until the end of next month and Joshua Silva's thigh injury is set to keep him out until the end of the month.
