Dominik Szoboszlai missed Liverpool’s 3-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday because of a hamstring problem.
Andoni Iraola said the midfielder returned from international duty with an overload and “came with an overload, he felt a tight hamstring.”
Szoboszlai tried to train through it but was not fully fit, and Iraola said the club will have to wait on him.
Szoboszlai captained Hungary in their 1-0 win over Georgia and was replaced in the 80th minute, with reports that Hungary coach Marco Rossi took him off because of fatigue.
His absence from the Liverpool squad emerged when the teamsheets were released, and Ryan Gravenberch started in midfield alongside Alexis Mac Allister.
Gravenberch was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 62nd minute. City then scored three times through Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku and Rayan Cherki, and Liverpool dropped to ninth in the table.
After the match, Iraola said it will be difficult for any of his injured players to return for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to LASK.
Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo are all unlikely to be fit for that game.
The exact severity of Szoboszlai’s injury is still not known. Even a Grade 1 problem, a minor strain, would likely rule him out for around two weeks.
As a result, he is also at risk of missing Liverpool’s games against Brentford (October 17), Villarreal (October 20) and Brighton & Hove Albion (October 25), depending on when he picked up the injury.
A Grade 2 injury normally carries a recovery period of three to six weeks. In that case, Szoboszlai could also sit out the League Cup tie with Chelsea (October 28) and the Premier League games against Arsenal (November 1) and Manchester United (November 21).
If he has suffered a muscle tear, the most serious grade, he would likely be out for about three months. That would mean a return just after the New Year.
The absence would hit a player Iraola relies on heavily. Dominik Szoboszlai is the manager’s second-most-used player this season.
Iraola named him one of three vice-captains for 2026-27, and he signed a new long-term contract in July.
It would not be his first hamstring problem. His last injury absence came more than two years ago, when a hamstring issue kept him out of six games, the last of them the FA Cup win over Southampton on February 28, 2024.
The injury adds to a long list. Gakpo and Isak were already out, along with longer-term absentees Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni.
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