Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola described Joe Gomez’s early injury as the biggest setback of an otherwise encouraging start to his tenure after the Reds defeated Sunderland 4-2 in a pre-season friendly in Nashville.
The victory, Liverpool’s opening match of its United States tour, featured goals from Kieran Morrison, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas. While the result provided a positive beginning for Iraola, the loss of Gomez overshadowed the performance.
The experienced defender, who captained the side and started at centre-back, was forced off just eight minutes into the match after picking up an injury. His departure has added to Liverpool’s defensive concerns at a time when the squad is already stretched.
Speaking after the match, Iraola admitted Gomez’s injury was a major disappointment.
“Probably the worst news has been straight away the injury of Joe,” Iraola said.
“We were happy because we were kind of going through all the training without losing any player. Unluckily for us, straight away we’ve lost Joe.”
Liverpool’s defensive options remain limited, with new signing Jeremy Jacquet still being carefully managed after recovering from a shoulder injury, while Giovanni Leoni continues his comeback from a long-term absence. Earlier this week, Iraola acknowledged that his squad is “very thin” at the back.
Providing an update on Jacquet, the Liverpool boss said the club is taking a cautious approach to the defender’s return.
“With Jeremy, we decided to take it easy with him. He has been a lot of months without playing with a shoulder injury. So, I think we are going to take it easy with him. He will play probably the last game of this US tour and he will have time to have minutes.”
Despite the injury setback, Iraola believes the opening fixture has given his team a solid platform ahead of upcoming friendlies against Wrexham in New York and Leeds in Chicago.
“A lot of things to correct, obviously, it’s the first day. You could feel the heavy legs, the players have been training,” he said.
“So, we lacked some freshness. But it will give us a good starting point to improve things.”
Liverpool will also be boosted by the return of several key players. Virgil van Dijk has been granted additional time off following the Netherlands’ World Cup campaign, while Iraola confirmed that Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch have arrived in Chicago after their post-World Cup breaks and are expected to rejoin the squad shortly.
