Iraola Provides Injury Updates on Barcola and Gakpo Ahead of Fulham Match

Anfield will expect three points on Saturday. Andoni Iraola’s main concern, for once, is not the opposition.

On the eve of Liverpool’s Premier League clash with winless Fulham, the head coach moved to calm fears over record signing Bradley Barcola while sounding a more cautious note on Cody Gakpo.

Barcola scare eased

Barcola, a £123 million statement of intent in the summer, sparked alarm when he limped off on the hour in Wednesday’s 2-1 comeback win over Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. With Liverpool still bedding in under Iraola and the Frenchman already central to their attacking identity, any hint of a setback felt significant.

The diagnosis, though, is as gentle as Liverpool could have hoped.

“We still need to train this afternoon, but Barcola was just cramps, he finished the game tired so we have to evaluate but there's no injury. He should be available if everything goes normal,” Iraola said at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

Cramp, not a muscle tear. Fatigue, not a lay-off. For a player who has already carried a heavy load in the early weeks of the season, that distinction matters. It means Liverpool’s most expensive signing should be ready to go again when Fulham walk out into the noise of a 3pm Anfield.

Gakpo concern lingers

The picture is far less clear with Gakpo.

The Dutch forward missed the midweek win over Atletico after suffering an adductor issue against Ipswich Town last week. His form had been one of the early stories of Liverpool’s campaign: a goal and three assists in their first three league games, a player finally knitting end product to his versatility across the front line.

Losing that momentum now would sting.

“Cody we will see. He did not train yesterday [Thursday], so today we will try with him and let's see if he's ready for tomorrow [Saturday] or we need to wait until the next one,” Iraola explained.

No guarantees. No dramatics either. Just the familiar tightrope of modern fixture lists, where one extra session can tip a player from doubt to risk.

If Gakpo fails to make it, Liverpool will enter the weekend without one of their sharpest creative outlets at a time when they are trying to turn an unbeaten start into something more imposing.

Ekitike’s long road back

Behind the short-term calculations, there is a longer, more delicate story unfolding with Hugo Ekitike.

The striker has not played since rupturing his Achilles in April, an injury that strips a player not only of minutes but of rhythm, confidence and explosiveness. Iraola did not hide the scale of the challenge.

“Hugo, it's difficult with these long-term injuries,” he said. “He's still far. But we had a meeting with all the department to analyse and complete the list of European games and there's a small chance he could play in the last two games of the group stages, but it's too early to say. It's a big injury.

“But if we decided to put him there, it is because there's a hope and a realistic chance he could help us in January.”

That European registration is more than a paperwork detail. It is a marker of faith, a sign that Liverpool see Ekitike not as a write-off for the season but as a potential weapon when the calendar tightens and legs grow heavy after Christmas.

For now, though, Iraola’s gaze stays on Fulham. Barcola looks ready to run again. Gakpo stands on the brink, waiting for one final training session to decide his fate. And somewhere in the background, Ekitike works through the lonely grind of rehab, aiming to join a Liverpool side that might still be in the thick of multiple competitions when he finally returns.