Andoni Iraola goes into his first competitive match as Liverpool head coach with three senior wide players available.
Cody Gakpo, Victor Munoz and Rio Ngumoha.
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That’s the entire list, and it’s the reason Richard Hughes has spent the past fortnight chasing Bradley Barcola, Ibrahim Mbaye and Yankuba Minteh without landing any of them.
Two bids for Minteh have been rejected.
The Barcola talks with PSG remain stuck on valuation.
Minteh himself isn’t due back from injury until October, which complicates that pursuit further.
Mohamed Salah’s departure left a hole nobody has filled.
So the last thing anyone at the club needed was another attacker limping off.
Which is exactly what happened at Kirkby on Saturday.
AJ Yeguo was withdrawn on 83 minutes during Liverpool U18s’ 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough, having been comfortably the home side’s most dangerous player throughout.
The left-winger went down after what looked an innocuous heel clip inside the penalty area, no spot-kick was given, and he couldn’t continue.
Harry Moran replaced him.
Yeguo’s afternoon up to that point had been the main reason Liverpool got anything from the game.
He beat his man repeatedly down the left in the first half, and both of Finn Inglethorpe’s goals traced back to his work, the second directly so.
The captain equalised on 49 minutes after Zak Coxon and Ellis Hickman’s press won the ball, then levelled again on 71 when Yeguo twisted into space and delivered a cross that wasn’t cleared properly, leaving Inglethorpe to crash the loose ball into the corner.
Eamonn Tohill had scored both for Middlesbrough, the second a rebound on 59 after Matty Wright made a double save from Lucca Kakai and Evan Simmons.
Yeguo’s injury caps a rough run for Simon Wiles’ squad.
Josh Abe dislocated his shoulder and is in a sling.
La’more Lee Forrester was already out.
Charlie Phillips lasted 36 minutes before going off injured, and Isaiah Garin was withdrawn on 73 after repeatedly going down.
Luca Eden missed the game on England duty.
The severity of Yeguo’s knock isn’t yet known, and the club haven’t provided an update.
Given the manner of it, a heel clip rather than anything structural, there’s reason for cautious optimism, though the U18s are back in action quickly with Brighton visiting Kirkby on Tuesday for their U18 Premier League Cup opener at 11am.
Liverpool U18s scored 70 and conceded 70 last season.
Two games into this campaign they’ve drawn one and lost one, and their most creative outlet is now a doubt.