Iraola fears injured Liverpool stars will miss LASK clash

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has admitted that he does not expect any of his injured players to recover in time for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to LASK.

The Reds face a quick turnaround following Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo all facing a race to be fit.

Speaking after the defeat, Iraola provided further details about Szoboszlai’s hamstring problem, which prevented the Hungarian international from featuring against City.

“Dom came from the national team with tightness, an overload,” he explained. “We put him as a floater in the training and tried to protect him but he was feeling something very small.”

With Liverpool facing four matches in just 10 days, Iraola acknowledged that the demanding schedule leaves little opportunity for his injured players to recover.

“It’s true that now we play four games in 10 days, so it’s going to be difficult because we fly to Austria in two days. I think it’s going to be difficult to recover any of the players.”

Isak is nursing a thigh injury, while Gakpo is recovering from an ankle problem. Both were ruled out of the City fixture, although Iraola indicated on Friday that neither injury was expected to be a long-term concern.

The Liverpool boss has not officially ruled any of the trio out of Wednesday’s match, but his latest comments suggest their involvement is increasingly unlikely.

Liverpool return to Premier League action against Brentford after their European trip, with Ryan Gravenberch also unavailable domestically following his dismissal against City.