Liverpool Manager Andoni Iraola
Liverpool Manager Andoni Iraola
Injuries have shaped Liverpool’s season under Andoni Iraola from the opening weeks. With Brighton due at Anfield on Sunday, the treatment room is busier than the head coach would like.
Hugo Ekitike ruptured his Achilles tendon against Paris Saint-Germain in April and remains sidelined.
Giovanni Leoni, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament on his debut in September 2025, has suffered a setback in his comeback.
Conor Bradley is recovering from knee surgery after an injury at Arsenal in January.
The problems continued this month. Dominik Szoboszlai returned from international duty with a tight hamstring and missed the games against Manchester City and LASK Linz. He came back at Brentford on Saturday and went off after 32 minutes.
Jeremie Frimpong replaced Ronald Araujo at half-time and lasted seven minutes before leaving with a new muscle injury.
Iraola said Szoboszlai’s problem was “not a new injury” and asked for patience. He said a Frimpong return before the November international break would be difficult.
Liverpool have kept winning.
They beat nine-man Brentford 2-1, then came from two goals down to beat Villarreal 4-3 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
In the Premier League, Liverpool are fifth with 12 points from seven games. Brighton are third with 16 points, 23 goals scored and five conceded.
Thursday’s training session has now raised a question over Bradley Barcola, who set up Alexander Isak’s winner at Brentford.
According to Sky Sports, four Liverpool players were not in full first-team training on Thursday ahead of the Brighton game.
Victor Munoz, Szoboszlai and Frimpong were absent. Barcola was not shown on the Sky cameras because he was doing an individual recovery session.
Munoz is again missing from training as he recovers from a knock to the knee. He scored Liverpool’s equaliser at Brentford and then missed the win over Villarreal.
Szoboszlai is out for one to three games. Frimpong is out for around four weeks.
It is not yet clear whether Barcola’s individual session affects his availability for Sunday.
Brighton arrive in strong form. They beat Crystal Palace 5-0 on Sunday for a fourth straight league win, scoring three times in the first ten minutes.
“We’re told Barcola is undergoing an individual training session”
Vinny O’Connor gives an update from Liverpool training ahead of a crunch fixture against Brighton this weekend ⏩ https://t.co/Bz5L31KBfP
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 22, 2026
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