Liverpool return to Champions League action this week looking to bounce back from their second Premier League defeat of the season. The Reds failed to register a shot on target in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal, leaving them nine points behind the league leaders.
Their European campaign has been far more successful, with a perfect record after wins over Atletico Madrid, LASK and Villarreal. Victory against Fenerbahce, now managed on an interim basis by Dirk Kuyt, would take Liverpool a huge step towards qualifying for the knockout stages.
Double Fitness Boost Ahead of Fenerbahce Trip
Andoni Iraola was able to welcome back Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Munoz from injury against Arsenal. However, further fitness boosts are unlikely ahead of the trip to Turkey.
Jeremie Frimpong sustained a muscle injury during the comeback win over Brentford last month, continuing his poor fitness record since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen. The attack-minded right-back is not expected to be available until after the November international break, meaning he will have missed six matches in a row.
Delivering an update on the Dutchman, Iraola said: “Jeremie Frimpong is obviously a new muscle injury and it happened, I think, in the second or third minute he was playing, difficult to predict and we will have to wait until he recovers.”
“But it’s going to be difficult, I think, before the [November international] break. We will try but it’s going to be difficult to have him.”
Leoni and Ekitike Nearing Comebacks
Giovanni Leoni signed for Liverpool from Parma last summer in a deal worth around £26million, but a serious knee injury has limited him to just one senior appearance. The Italian central defender made his debut in a Carabao Cup third round tie against Southampton in September 2025, impressing before landing awkwardly and suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
Initially hoped to return to training during the last international break, Liverpool now believe Leoni will be back on the grass during November’s international window. “It’s taking more time than we wanted,” said Iraola. “The planning was to train with the team in this past international break [but] probably it’s going to be in the next international break, so we’ve lost one month in the process.”
Hugo Ekitike has not played since rupturing his right Achilles tendon in the second leg of Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain in April. The Frenchman missed the end of last season and the World Cup, with suggestions he would remain sidelined for nine to 12 months.
Iraola included Ekitike in his squad for the league phase of the Champions League, hoping he could return for the final two games in January against Inter Milan and Lens. According to reports in France, Ekitike is now targeting a return before the end of the year after travelling to the United States to visit a specialist.
Conor Bradley Close to Full Training
Conor Bradley is another long-term absentee, having undergone surgery on bone and ligament damage to his left knee suffered during the goalless away draw with Arsenal in January. Iraola’s latest comments were positive, indicating Bradley will soon return to full training.
“[He is] doing very well,” Iraola said. “I think [he is] in a good place. Conor is not so far from training with the group – not like full training but doing some things with the group.”
A return following the November international break seems most likely for the right-back, with Liverpool keen to get him minutes with the U21s prior to a first team reintegration.
