Liverpool injury update: Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Curtis Jones latest news and return dates
Liverpool go into the new Premier League season with a number of injury concerns.
Andoni Iraola has now taken over the reins from Arne Slot at Anfield, but has not been afforded the summer additions that he might have liked ahead of the upcoming campaign.
As such, the Reds look a bit light in certain areas on the pitch, and injuries do not help their cause.
They came through Como 2-0 in their final pre-season friendly on Sunday, as Iraola plumped for what should be his opening-day first XI.
Jeremy Jacquet made a goalscoring start to his Reds career, netting on his debut after recovering from the serious shoulder injury that hampered his final season at Rennes before a £60million move.
That was his first appearance in his new colours having not featured at all during pre-season, with Iraola managing his minutes.
With that said, here is all the latest Liverpool injury news and potential return dates...
Right-back Bradley has been sidelined since January with a serious knee injury that he suffered against Arsenal.
It curtailed his campaign having had to undergo surgery. His comeback still looks a long way off, as he has not featured at all in any friendly so far, and Jeremie Frimpong and Calvin Ramsay both played at right-back against Como.
Ronald Araujo has also been signed to fill in in that position too.
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French striker Ekitike started life on Merseyside with a bang, netting 11 goals in 28 Premier League games and three in the Champions League.
However, he ruptured his Achilles in April, and he has not played since.
When asked about his long-term absentees, Iraola ranked Ekitike last in who he thought would come back soonest, saying that it would still be “months” before the forward could return to the first-team fold.
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Midfielder Jones was a curious absentee in the friendlies against Como.
It was reported that he had been nursing a hip injury, but the rumour mill keeps spinning and linking him with a move to Inter Milan.
Iraola seemed positive before the Como matches that he would be in line for a quick return, however, saying: “Curtis has trained every day but yesterday finished with issues in the hip.
“It doesn't look anything big but it didn’t make any sense to risk and those are the ones, more or less, closer to a return."
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Italian defender Leoni suffered a nightmare debut last summer when he tore his ACL playing against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.
It ruled him out of his entire first season in England, but Iraola believes that he is now closing in on a comeback.
"In terms of order, I think the closest one to returning is Leoni,” the Spaniard said back in late July.
“After that it will be Conor and Hugo. But especially the last two are still way off, we are talking about months and still a lot of time out."
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Another that has been plagued with injury in his time on Merseyside, Gomez limped out of the Reds’ first pre-season friendly after just 10 minutes.
Iraola confirmed that the English defender had suffered a muscle injury against Sunderland in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Reds boss said of the centre-back in July: "He will be some weeks off. It's a muscle injury and [with] muscle injuries it is difficult to say one day, but normally I always put [it] as one month.
"If it goes very good the injury is a little bit less, if [not] it goes a little more. It's not massive, it's a normal muscle injury, [but] I think it's going to be impossible to have him for the start of the season because we are not so far [away]. It shouldn't be a lot more."
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