A tough start before a ball has been kicked

Liverpool's 2026/27 Premier League season gets underway against Newcastle United, and Andoni Iraola is already navigating a congested treatment room before his side has played a single competitive minute. A quartet of players are sidelined with varying degrees of severity, and the picture that's emerged from Iraola's pre-season press briefings is one that demands patience from supporters who will be desperate to see their full squad available from the off.

The issues are not entirely unexpected. Several of these injuries have been building throughout the summer, and the club's relatively quiet transfer window has placed even greater importance on keeping the fit players fit. With pre-season used largely to develop match sharpness across a consistent group, the pressure now shifts to managing that group carefully into the business end of August.

Joe Gomez and the timeline nobody wanted

The most recent name added to the casualty list is Joe Gomez, who was forced off just 10 minutes into Liverpool's pre-season friendly against Sunderland. Iraola has since confirmed it is a muscle injury, and while he was at pains to stress it is not a serious one, the timing is unfortunate with the season virtually upon us. "Joe will be some weeks off," the manager said. "It is difficult to say [how long], but normally, I always put myself as one month. It's not massive, it's a normal muscle injury, [but] I think it's going to be impossible to have him for the start of the season because we are not so far [away]. It shouldn't be a lot more."

A potential return date of the away fixture at Ipswich on Friday 4 September has been floated, which would mean Gomez missing only the opening few matches. It is frustrating rather than alarming, but it does reduce Iraola's defensive options at a point where the squad is already stretched.

The long-term absentees: Ekitike, Bradley and Leoni

The more sobering reading comes when you look at the longer-term picture. Hugo Ekitike ruptured his Achilles back in April, and with that kind of injury there are no shortcuts. Iraola's assessment from July was blunt: Ekitike, along with Conor Bradley, is "still way off" and the manager is talking in months rather than weeks. A return somewhere around November or December appears to be the working estimate for both men. Bradley, who has barely featured since January due to a serious knee problem, sits in the same bracket despite having picked up his injury earlier in the year.

The one relative bright spot among the long-term absentees is Leoni, who Iraola identified as the closest of the trio to returning. That said, given the ACL injury sustained, Leoni is still looking at passing close to a full calendar year on the sidelines before stepping back onto a pitch. "In terms of order, I think the closest one to returning is Leoni. After will be Conor and Hugo, but especially the last two are still way off. We are talking about months and still a lot of time out," Iraola confirmed.

Isak fit, but Iraola keeping a careful eye

The one piece of genuinely encouraging news is that Alexander Isak appears to be in good shape after his World Cup involvement with Sweden. The 26-year-old has started each of Liverpool's last three pre-season friendlies and has looked sharp throughout, though the club are understandably cautious given the fitness difficulties he navigated during his first season at the club.

Iraola was typically measured but warm when assessing his striker. "I think the same as others, an important player for us, in a very good place. Training every day, adding minutes, played a good World Cup with Sweden, fitness levels. I want to keep him there as much as we can. We know his level, he will score the goals. He will give us a lot of things." With Ekitike unavailable for the foreseeable future, Isak's importance to Liverpool's early-season fortunes cannot be overstated. The fact that the opening weeks carry a gentler schedule of roughly one match every seven days should help Iraola manage his minutes sensibly. How long that remains possible is the question the rest of the season will answer.