Andoni Iraola fears Joe Gomez could be out for a month with a muscle injury, but hopes Jeremy Jacquet will be fit to make his Liverpool debut as they face Leeds in a friendly this week.
The Reds have won two from two in pre-season so far, beating Sunderland and Wrexham as Iraola gets to grips with his new side. An injury to Gomez in the defeat of the Black Cats has highlighted Liverpool's threadbare defence, which lacks centre-backs with Giovani Leoni still injured and Virgil van Dijk training in Kirkby. Summer signing Jacquet is yet to feature this summer.
Gomez sidelined
Gomez has struggled for consistent fitness throughout his career and is once again facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after going down with a muscle problem. Iraola explained: “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. If it goes very good the injury is a little bit less, if [not] it goes a little more. 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.”
Jacquet debut pending
Jacquet joined from Rennes earlier this summer but is continuing to recover from a shoulder injury, which has prevented him from being involved in either of Liverpool's friendlies so far. Iraola expects he will be ready to make his comeback alongside a number of his new team-mates.
“My idea is for Ryan [Gravenberch], for Florian [Wirtz], for Alex [Isak], for even Jeremy Jacquet to have their first minutes against Leeds,” said the Spaniard. “We’ll see how many minutes they can play but we have to start slowly, slowly integrating more of the senior players that have had less training sessions. I think they should be ready on the weekend to have their first minutes.”
Gravenberch, Wirtz and Isak all joined up with the Liverpool squad after the Sunderland match having been granted extra time off following the World Cup. They played no part against Wrexham in New York City. Liverpool face Leeds in Chicago on Sunday, August 2.
