Liverpool's Defensive Injury Crisis: Jeremy Jacquet's Fitness Update

Liverpool face an anxious wait over Jeremy Jacquet’s fitness as Andoni Iraola heads into his final pre-season double-header still juggling a defensive injury crisis.

The new head coach, preparing for his first Premier League campaign in charge at Anfield, has seen his options at centre-back stripped to the bone, leaving Virgil van Dijk as the only fully fit senior specialist for much of the summer.

Centre-back crisis as Jacquet race continues

Jacquet, the £60million signing from Rennes, has yet to kick a ball in pre-season. An unspecified issue kept him out of the recent 3-2 defeat to Monaco, adding fresh concern after a shoulder problem curtailed his previous campaign.

The Frenchman is at least back in full team training before Como’s visit, giving Iraola a sliver of hope that he could feature in one of Sunday’s two fixtures behind closed doors and in front of fans. The Spaniard is treading carefully, though. Jacquet is viewed as a cornerstone of the new project, not a short-term gamble.

The pressure on the recruitment team has already told. Liverpool moved to bring in Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona, a significant stopgap to plug the growing gap at the heart of defence.

Giovanni Leoni is still on the long road back from the ACL injury he suffered on debut in the Carabao Cup a year ago, while Joe Gomez’s pre-season was abruptly halted when he limped off in the 4-2 win over Sunderland. A muscle problem forced his withdrawal and, barring a rapid turnaround, looks set to cost him the start of the league season.

That has pushed newly-signed youngsters Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Talla Ndiaye into the spotlight, with both featuring across the summer, alongside academy product Luke Chambers.

Konate gone, kids step up

Iraola’s first weeks have also been shaped by the departure of Ibrahima Konate, who left on a free transfer at the end of his contract and joined Real Madrid. One experienced defender out, another still finding his feet, and a cluster of injuries around them: it is hardly the smooth defensive handover any new manager craves.

At least there was one welcome sight in the Monaco defeat. Van Dijk returned to action, as did first-choice goalkeeper Alisson, restoring some senior presence to the spine of the side.

Beyond the back line, the injury list continues to nibble away at Iraola’s plans. Curtis Jones has been nursing a hip problem amid links with Inter Milan, missing the Monaco game before returning to training. His status for Sunday remains under review.

World Cup finalists Alexis Mac Allister and Victor Munoz are back with the squad but under careful monitoring after deep runs with their national teams. Their match sharpness, rather than outright fitness, will dictate how many minutes they see before the Premier League kicks off.

Conor Bradley (knee) and Hugo Ekitike (Achilles) are both ruled out for the longer term, adding to the sense that Iraola’s first month in charge will require flexibility and trust in youth as much as tactical innovation.

Iraola’s selection puzzle

So what does all that mean for Sunday’s twin fixtures against Como at Anfield?

Iraola could use the day to edge towards his strongest available XI, or he might again lean on the club’s younger faces to protect those returning from injury and international duty. What he lacks in senior depth, he compensates for with a cluster of hungry prospects eager to seize a rare opening.

A likely starting shape remains 4-2-3-1, with a predicted XI of:

Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch; Ngumouha, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak.

Jacquet, Jones, Mac Allister and Munoz all sit in the “doubtful” bracket, while Bradley, Leoni, Ekitike, Gomez and Danns are ruled out.

Two kick-offs, one behind closed doors at 11.30am BST and a ticketed friendly at 6pm on Sunday, August 16, 2026, give Iraola room to experiment. The question is simple and sharp: can he find a settled core, especially at centre-back, before the real thing starts to bite?