Joe Gomez lasted just eight minutes of Liverpool's first pre-season friendly before being forced off with a muscle injury. The defender captained the side in the 4-2 win over Sunderland in Nashville but was withdrawn early.
Injury Timeline
Manager Andoni Iraola has confirmed the injury will keep Gomez out for around a month, making him unlikely to feature in Liverpool's Premier League opener at Newcastle United on August 23.
"Joe has a muscle injury," Iraola said at a press conference in Chicago. "It was quite clear since he complained straight away so he will be some weeks off."
"It's a muscle injury. It's difficult to say - normally one month. If it goes very good, then a little bit less. If it goes bad then a bit more but it's a muscle injury."
Defensive Depths
"It's not massive. I think it will be impossible to have him for the start of the season because we are not so far but it shouldn't be a lot more," Iraola added.
The Liverpool boss noted the lack of senior centre-backs available, with Virgil van Dijk still absent and only young players Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe as natural options.
"You've seen in these games that we are pretty thin in the centre-back position. We still don't have Virgil. The only centre-backs we have right now are Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe who are 18, just arrived at the club and are doing incredibly well."
Youngsters Stepping Up
Iraola praised the composure shown by the young defenders in the friendlies, including Luke Chambers who played out of position.
"Yesterday, Luke Chambers played there - he's not a centre-back but he played really well. Until we recover some bodies - I think Jeremy is ready to go."
He also expects returning World Cup players to boost the squad. "We will recover players, it would not be good if we played against Newcastle the same 11 we did yesterday."
