Andoni Iraola has admitted it is too early to determine whether Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai will be fit for Saturday's Premier League clash with Brentford. The Reds maintained their perfect start in the Champions League with a 6-3 victory over LASK in Austria on Tuesday evening. Bradley Barcola scored a hat-trick, while Ronald Araujo, Jeremy Frimpong and Lewis Koumas also found the net. Liverpool will now turn their attention back to the Premier League as they look to bounce back from their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City last weekend. Isak, Gakpo and Szoboszlai were all absent through injury, leaving their availability for the weekend in doubt.
Iraola's update on injured trio
"It's early for us to say, we have to train tomorrow," Iraola said in his press conference. "They were not ready so we have to wait and see. Early but like I said they were not ready for previous games, I leave the chance open."
Should Isak remain absent against Brentford, Koumas will be keen to seize his opportunity after scoring his first European goal and providing an assist against LASK. However, the injury concerns for the Spanish boss do not end there.
Isak, Gakpo and Szoboszlai injury details
Alexander Isak has a thigh injury. Iraola said: "Isak has a thigh injury, whenever he feels ready, they don't look like long term injuries. But not ready for Sunday [vs Man City]. It don't look like long term – we will be analysing day to day." His potential return date is the home game against Villarreal on Tuesday, October 20.
Cody Gakpo has an ankle injury. Iraola said: "Cody has an ankle injury. He has had some before in his career and it's a matter of him dealing with the pain because when you twist your ankle... it was a really bad tackle, I think." His potential return date is also the Villarreal home game on Tuesday, October 20.
Dominik Szoboszlai has a hamstring injury. Iraola said: "Dom came from the national team with tightness, an overload. We put him as a floater in the training and tried to protect him but he was feeling something very small." His potential return date is the end of October or beginning of November.
Long-term absentees and suspension
Giovanni Leoni has an ACL injury and has not played since September 2025. Iraola said: "It's taking more time than we wanted. With Leo, the plan was to train in the international break but it will be the next one, so we have lost one month of progress. It was not just an ACL, it was a bad injury, a lot of areas around the knee. That process has to be very careful and we want to be careful when he returns to the team he stays in a good place. So the plan now is he starts in the next break. Later than we expected." His potential return date is the end of the year.
Conor Bradley has a knee injury. Iraola said in September: "I think he is not close to training with the team. He's training alone but he has started touching the ball. Definitely I want him as quick as possible ready but it's a long-term injury." His potential return date is the end of the year.
Hugo Ekitike suffered an Achilles injury back in April and is not expected to return before the end of the year. Iraola said: "I think it's difficult with these long-term injuries, I think he's still far [away]. But we had a meeting with the medical department to analyse when we completed the [squad] list for the European games. There is a reasonable chance that he could help us in the last two games of the group stages. But it's still very early to say. It's very early because it's a long-term injury [and] a big part of the rehab [he] is still to meet. But if we decide to put him there, it is because there is a hope and there is a realistic chance that he could help us in January." His potential return date is January 2027.
Ryan Gravenberch will miss Liverpool's clash with Brentford after being sent off for accumulating yellow cards during their match against Manchester City.
