Andoni Iraola has revealed that Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and Cody Gakpo will start training next week, but will not travel to the United States to join the rest of the team.
Liverpool landed in Chicago on Monday to start their three-stop tour without any of their World Cup representatives.
Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch will be the first to report back, with Iraola telling reporters they will be “fully with us” in the second week in America.
As for Van Dijk, Alisson and Gakpo, they will report back to the AXA Training Centre next week instead of flying to join the rest of the squad at the end of the tour.
“They will start training at the AXA in Liverpool,” the head coach revealed. “We thought, for different reasons, especially Virgil, because he has been the player with the most minutes in Europe.
“I think they are going to, Cody as well for other reasons, start training the same week as the others.
“But instead of making them come here with the team, we considered it was sensible with them to start the first week training in a small group, or even with younger players, at the AXA.”
They will, therefore, miss the friendlies against Sunderland on Saturday in Nashville, Wrexham in New York (July 30) and Leeds in Chicago (August 2).
It leaves only the Anfield games against Monaco (August 9) and Como (August 16) for the trio to get up to speed with their new head coach’s demands before the league opener on August 23.
Virgil Van Dijk of Netherlands and team mates applaud the fans after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F match between Netherlands and Japan at Dallas Stadium (Credit: Craig Mercer/ Alamy Live News)
Virgil Van Dijk of Netherlands and team mates applaud the fans after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F match between Netherlands and Japan at Dallas Stadium (Credit: Craig Mercer/ Alamy Live News)
While Gakpo and Van Dijk dropped out of the World Cup at the same time as Gravenberch, the captain has played more than 6,000 minutes since last August and is deserving of extra time off.
Gakpo and his partner, it mustn’t be forgotten, suffered the devastating loss of their unborn son during the World Cup, with the winger remaining with his national team in the immediate aftermath.
Their late return means Iraola will remain without five World Cup representatives for the duration of the club’s time in the United States, with Alexis Mac Allister and Victor Munoz to be the last to report back.
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