Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong are expected to miss Liverpool's Champions League match against Villarreal at Anfield on Tuesday (8pm kick-off) after both limped off during Saturday's 2-1 win at Brentford. Head coach Andoni Iraola confirmed the pair will be out for "some time", adding to the club's injury concerns.
Szoboszlai suffers setback
Szoboszlai, who had returned from a hamstring injury sustained in the 3-0 loss to Manchester City, lasted just 32 minutes against Brentford before being forced off. Iraola had previously played down the seriousness of the problem, but the midfielder now faces another spell on the sidelines.
"Dom felt the same injury, so that injury probably isn’t healed enough so we will need more time with him," Iraola said.
Frimpong faces new layoff
Frimpong, who came on as a substitute at Brentford, sustained a new injury after cramping in the previous match. The right-back, who has struggled with fitness since joining from Bayer Leverkusen, is now set for another period out, leaving Iraola without a senior fit right-back.
"Jeremie was new. He finished the game cramping the other day. I put him in because playing against 10 I thought he would give us more going forward than Ronald (Araujo)," Iraola explained. "After that, Victor (Munoz) was very good playing as a right-back. But it will mean we will lose Dom and Jeremie for some time."
Leoni's return delayed
Giovanni Leoni, a £26million signing from Parma, has had his planned return delayed after more than a year out with a serious ACL injury sustained on his debut in September 2025. The defender was expected to resume full training during the recent international break, but that is now not anticipated until next month.
"It is taking more time than we wanted," Iraola said. "With Gio, the plan was to train with the team in this past international break. It is probably now going to be the next international break, so we have lost one month in the process."
Iraola added: "Giovanni's injury, I wasn't here but talking to the medical department it wasn't just an ACL. It was a bad injury, a lot of things around the knee were involved apart from the ACL."
Ekitike and Bradley progress
Hugo Ekitike, who has been out since rupturing his Achilles tendon in April, could return to training next month, with a potential comeback target of Boxing Day. Conor Bradley, recovering from an ACL injury suffered in January, is close to returning to light training.
"Conor is not so far from training with the group – not like full training but doing some things with the group," Iraola confirmed.
