Bradley Barcola's Liverpool Struggles: Injury Update

Bradley Barcola’s Liverpool start has gone from frustrating to worrying.

The French winger, signed in the summer to add spark on the left, is still searching for his first goal after three appearances. Now he is also facing his first spell on the sidelines, having come off injured around the hour mark in the Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid.

Any hope of using the Carabao Cup to relaunch his season has been shut down.

Barcola ruled out of Tottenham tie

On the eve of Liverpool’s third-round Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham, Andoni Iraola drew a clear line under Barcola’s chances of featuring.

“He is not ready to train with the team yet. He is training on his own, but he has started to touch the ball. We want him back as soon as possible,” Iraola said, as quoted by Foot Mercato.

The message was cautiously optimistic, but it came with a reality check.

“He still has some time to recover, and it will take a while,” the Liverpool manager added. “With all these long-term injuries, I think (Giovanni) Leoni has a slight edge over him.”

So Barcola waits. The 24-year-old, brought in to make an immediate impact, is instead stuck in a lonely phase of rehab work and individual sessions, watching others seize opportunities he expected to fight for himself.

Leoni’s “slight edge” is telling. In a squad already stretched by longer-term absences, every fit attacking option matters. Every training session counts. Barcola, for now, is on the outside looking in.

Liverpool will hope the next update on their summer signing is not about setbacks, but about a return date.