Anfield Injury Watch: Gakpo Doubt as Arbeloa Seeks First Points

Andoni Iraola heads into another Anfield night juggling fitness questions, with Cody Gakpo facing a late test ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Alvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham.

The Dutch forward missed Wednesday’s win over Atletico Madrid with what Iraola called “adductor issues” and remains a major doubt. The staff will push it as far as they can.

“[With] Cody, we will see,” Iraola said at his pre-match press conference. “He didn’t train yesterday. Today, we will try with him and let’s see if he’s ready for tomorrow or we need to wait for the next one.”

If Gakpo is racing the clock, Bradley Barcola looks to have made it in time. The winger, who cramped up and had to come off in the second half of his full debut against Atletico, is expected to be available.

“We still need to train [on Friday],” Iraola explained. “But, yes, Barcola was just cramps. Obviously he finished tight in the game and then we have to evaluate how things are today – but there’s no injury. He should be available if everything goes normal.”

Joe Gomez is also edging closer. The defender has been out with a muscle problem picked up in pre-season but could make the squad if he comes through the final session. Federico Chiesa continues his own recovery and is not yet ready to return.

Long-term injuries still cast a shadow over Iraola’s options. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni remain sidelined, with Ekitike’s ruptured Achilles the most serious of the three.

Iraola, though, allowed a small shaft of light in that particular tunnel.

“I think it’s difficult with these long-term injuries, I think he’s still far [away],” he admitted. “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.”

Arbeloa’s Anfield return

On the opposite bench, Arbeloa arrives at the stadium he once called home still hunting his first Premier League points as Fulham head coach.

The Spaniard, who played 98 times for Liverpool between 2007 and 2009, brings a Cottagers side that lost 3-2 to Crystal Palace last time out. His team selection, though, looks far more straightforward than Iraola’s.

Tom Cairney, sidelined with a knee injury, is set to be Fulham’s only absentee for the trip to Merseyside.

“We have to wait until the last training session,” Arbeloa said. “But just Tom [is currently out injured] and we will see after the training session if everyone is ready.”

For Arbeloa, this is no ordinary away day. He has been back to Anfield as a Real Madrid player. Walking out of the tunnel as a Premier League head coach is a different kind of occasion.

“It will be so special,” he said. “I went back when I was a Real Madrid player but now it’s my first time as a coach. Anfield will always be a special place for me.

“We have a massive game for us and we have been working really hard this week. We know that we have to improve and we need to adjust some parts of our game.”

Form and fine margins

Liverpool arrive from a 2-1 win over Atletico on September 9, with Alisson, Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Barcola, Wirtz, Ngumoha and Isak all involved from the start. That XI underlined Iraola’s willingness to trust younger faces and new signings on a European stage.

Fulham’s last outing, a 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace on September 5, saw Leno, Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Charles, Iwobi, Bobb, King, Palacios and Garcia start. They carried a threat but cracked at key moments.

So the stage is set. Iraola weighs risk and reward over Gakpo’s fitness, Barcola’s legs and Gomez’s readiness. Arbeloa walks back into the noise of Anfield, searching for his first points and a statement result.

One manager is managing expectation around injuries. The other is trying to manage emotion on his return. Only one will walk down the tunnel satisfied.