Liverpool are hoping for good news on the injury front ahead of their high-profile showdown with Arsenal at Anfield this weekend. The Reds welcome the reigning Premier League champions just days after beating Chelsea in a penalty shootout to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Szoboszlai and Munoz in contention for Arsenal
Dominik Szoboszlai aggravated a hamstring injury while on international duty with Hungary last month and was forced off with a recurrence in his first game back, the 2-1 win at Brentford. He has not featured since, missing matches against Villarreal, Brighton and Chelsea, having previously been sidelined for the meetings with Manchester City and LASK Linz.
At his pre-match press conference on Friday, Andoni Iraola said Szoboszlai and Victor Munoz could both potentially return against Arsenal. "I think they have a chance," he said. "They have a chance. But I don't know for sure if they will be involved or not. We still have two days so I think we have a chance, yes."
Munoz played the full 90 minutes against Brentford, but it was revealed after the game that the Spanish winger had picked up a knock. Viewed as a minor issue, it prevented him from featuring against Brighton. Last Friday, Iraola revealed: "It was too early the other day against Villarreal, and I think it is going to be difficult [for Brighton] but I really don't know."
Frimpong and Bradley ruled out
Liverpool will likely be without Jeremie Frimpong until after the next international break. The former Manchester City, Celtic and Bayer Leverkusen full-back, also injured against Brentford, has been plagued by hamstring issues throughout his time at Anfield. On Frimpong, Iraola last 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."
Liverpool are currently short at right-back, with Conor Bradley also in the treatment room. Bradley sustained a serious knee injury against Arsenal in January and is closing in on a return to action. Iraola's latest comments were positive, indicating that Bradley will soon return to full training. "[He is] doing very well," Iraola shared recently. "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. I think Conor is not very far from starting doing things with us."
Leoni and Ekitike long-term absentees
Giovanni Leoni has become somewhat of a forgotten man at Anfield after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on his Liverpool debut in the Carabao Cup last September. Only weeks prior the young defender had made a £26million switch from Parma. Leoni's recovery journey revealed that it was not just an ACL tear, with further complications found. He has since completed surgery and been out for 13 months. It was initially hoped that he would return to training during the last international break, but instead, Liverpool now believe that Leoni will be back out 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. Giovanni's injury, I wasn't here but talking to the medical department, it was not just an ACL – it was a bad injury, a lot of things around the knee were involved apart from the ACL."
Another long-term absentee is Hugo Ekitike, with the French striker recovering from a torn Achilles suffered back in April. Currently rehabbing after undergoing surgery, Iraola placed Ekitike's timeline for a return behind Bradley. "They are both doing very well," Iraola recently said of Ekitike and Bradley. "I think they are 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. Hugo is a little bit behind that but that was always the plan. He is still doing very well according to the plan."
