Absentees: Ryan Gravenberch, Conor Bradley, and Joe Gomez
The champions lost the Community Shield against Crystal Palace at Wembley after the Eagles twice came from behind to beat the Reds on penalties, with Mohamed Salah skying his spot-kick before Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott were both kept out by Dean Henderson.
Arne Slot, while unhappy at the result and another two goals conceded in what has been a leaky defence in pre-season, will be reassured knowing that all of his squad came through unscathed from their trip to London.
Will any of the three absentees as Wembley be fit and available for their opener against Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday night? Here’s a look at the latest Liverpool injury news...
Ryan Gravenberch
The Dutchman was a surprise omission from Slot’s Community Shield squad, especially considering that the midfielder was eligible to play despite being sent off in the final game of last season - coincidentally against Crystal Palace.
Slot revealed to TNT Sports before the game: “Ryan Gravenberch became a father yesterday,” with the former Ajax man, as such, not included in the travelling cohort.
While the arrival of Gravenberch Jr. might blur the lines as to when the midfielder will return, it won’t be against Bournemouth, due to his sending off against Palace last season.
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The centre-back was forced to fly home early from Liverpool’s pre-season tour of Asia with a calf problem.
Slot said on-tour that he hoped to have the defender return to the first-team fold promptly, with the Reds currently down to the bare bones at the back.
Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk are the Premier League champions’ only recognised senior options in the heart of defence in Gomez’s absence.
“Unfortunately, he has a minor injury at the moment, but he will be back with the team very soon,” Slot said before the Community Shield.
Touted to be Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long-term successor, it hasn’t quite been the ideal path into the first team for the Northern Ireland international.
The nature of the right-back’s injury remains unknown. Slot said that it would be “tight” for him to be involved in the Community Shield, and Bradley also missed out on the double-header against Athletic Bilbao at Anfield.
Slot’s words indicate that perhaps Bradley is not too far away from a return, and that could potentially happen in the coming weeks.