Liverpool Injury Update: Gomez Set for Return as Champions League Approaches

Liverpool finally have a sliver of good news to cling to as their Champions League campaign looms into view.

Andoni Iraola’s side claimed their first win under the new head coach on Friday night, a controlled 2-0 victory at Portman Road over Ipswich, settled by a sharp Alexander Isak brace. It was a result the Spaniard badly needed. Now he could soon be welcoming back one of his most important defenders as Atletico Madrid arrive at Anfield on Wednesday.

Most of Liverpool’s walking wounded are dealing with long-term problems. One name, though, is edging back towards the grass.

Joe Gomez nearing long-awaited return

Joe Gomez’s pre-season lasted barely 10 minutes. He limped off in the opening friendly of the summer, a muscle injury cutting short what was supposed to be a clean reset under Iraola.

At the time, the manager sounded cautious.

“He will be some weeks off,” Iraola said after the Sunderland game in Nashville. “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.”

That rough estimate has proved about right. The tone has shifted now.

Before the trip to Ipswich, Iraola revealed the defender is on the brink of rejoining full training.

“Joe will probably start training with us next week, and it has gone normally. The recovery from a muscle injury – more or less, we were expecting the time on this. I hope we can have him before the break, let’s say.”

Liverpool have pencilled in a potential return at home to Fulham on September 12. If all goes to plan, Gomez could be back in the matchday squad just as the domestic and European calendars begin to bite.

Chiesa and Leoni targeting October

Further up the pitch, Federico Chiesa remains a longer-term project.

The Italian forward has sat out the first three league games with a muscle issue, after “twanging” something in his back during a pre-season friendly against Como. Hopes of a swift return have faded; the club now expect to be without him until October.

“I think even Fede should be around those dates [after the international break],” Iraola said last week.

The working target is the home clash with Man City on October 11, a date that could also mark the end of a brutal year for Giovanni Leoni.

The young Italian defender tore his ACL on debut against Southampton a year ago and has not played since. His rehabilitation, though, is finally reaching its final phase.

“I think the plan is also to start training during the [international] break, with the group,” Iraola explained before the win over Ipswich.

If that schedule holds, Leoni too is being lined up for a potential return against Man City on October 11, a game that may feel like a relaunch for more than one Liverpool career.

Ekitike and Bradley face long road back

The picture is far bleaker for Hugo Ekitike.

The French striker’s impressive debut campaign was abruptly halted in April when he ruptured his Achilles tendon. He has not featured since, and while Iraola is optimistic he will be seen again before the end of the year, the club are treating his recovery with obvious caution.

“Hugo will go [later this year],” the Liverpool boss said last week, leaving the exact timing deliberately vague.

For now, the only guidance is a broad “late 2026” as a projected return date, a reminder of the seriousness of the injury and the patience required.

Conor Bradley is in a similar bracket in terms of uncertainty. The right-back has been out since January after suffering an injury against Arsenal and has already undergone surgery. The Northern Ireland international remains sidelined, though Iraola believes he could come back before Ekitike and not too long after Chiesa.

Again, the club’s public line is conservative: a potential return date of late 2026.

Atletico next as Iraola leans on core group

So Iraola goes into his first Champions League night as Liverpool manager with a squad still patched together, leaning heavily on those who are fit and firing.

Gomez is close. Chiesa and Leoni can see the finish line. Ekitike and Bradley are working in the shadows.

Atletico Madrid arrive on Wednesday. By the time Man City come to town in October, we will know whether this Liverpool squad has merely survived its early injury storm – or used it to harden the edge of a new era.