Liverpool injury scare for Munoz before Villarreal Champions League clash
Liverpool injury scare for Munoz before Villarreal clash

Victor Munoz has handed Liverpool a new injury scare after he was absent from training ahead of the Champions League clash with Villarreal on Tuesday evening.

Munoz, who scored the equaliser in the 2-1 Premier League win at Brentford at the weekend, was the most notable absentee as the Reds were put through their paces in the session open to the media at the AXA Training Centre on Monday.

The Spaniard twice required treatment during the game although he was able to continue on each occasion, and was replaced towards the end by Joe Gomez.

Absentees and Academy Call-Ups

Andoni Iraola is already without Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong after the duo became the latest players sidelined after picking up issues during the weekend Premier League win at Brentford.

Long-term injury victims Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Hugo Ekitike continue to work on their rehabilitation.

It meant that for the second successive Champions League game, the Reds were compelled to bolster their squad with Academy players likely to be on the bench at Anfield.

Youngsters in Training

Among them was midfielder Michael Laffey, the 21-year-old under-21s captain who has featured twice in the EFL Trophy already this season. His only senior involvement thus far was when an unused substitute in the League Cup defeat to Crystal Palace last October.

Left-back Luke Chambers and midfielder James McConnell, who have both featured for the first team this season, were also part of the session, along with striker Jayden Danns.

Despite not being part of the Liverpool squad for the first stage of the Champions League, Federico Chiesa trained although Wataru Endo, who is also ineligible, was not present.