Liverpool injury update: Confirmed latest on Joe Gomez, Hugo Ekitike and more

Liverpool injury update: Confirmed latest on Joe Gomez, Hugo Ekitike and more Liverpool Injury Update: Joe Gomez Pushes for Return Ahead of Tottenham Liverpool have an availability problem, and right now that matters as much as tactics. The 0-0 draw with Fulham at Anfield underlined it. Cody Gakpo and Milos Kerkez both made the bench after fitness concerns, which helped. Another return could follow quickly, with Joe Gomez back in training and pushing for his first minutes of the season. That is the immediate headline before Tottenham arrive in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday. Liverpool need bodies, they need reliability, and they need players who can take strain off a squad that has already had too many interruptions. Photo IMAGO Joe Gomez Return Offers Timely Boost Gomez has not played a competitive game this season. His setback came early, a muscle injury suffered just eight minutes into Andoni Iraola’s first match in charge, the 4-2 pre-season win over Sunderland in July. Since then, Liverpool have had to wait. Now he is back on the training pitch. That does not guarantee a start against Tottenham, but it puts him firmly in the frame either for the cup tie or the Premier League trip to Bournemouth five days later. For a defender with his experience and versatility, that is significant. Liverpool do not need to overcomplicate this. If Gomez is fit, he helps. Hugo Ekitike and Conor Bradley Face Longer Absences Hugo Ekitike remains one of the longer-term cases. The forward has been out since rupturing his Achilles in last season’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain. Surgery followed in April, and the original recovery estimate of eight to nine months always made this a waiting game. There are at least positive signs. Ekitike recently posted footage of himself kicking a ball against a wall indoors, captioned “Warm-up.” It is a small step, not a major one, and that is the point. Achilles recoveries are serious and there is no sense pretending otherwise. The broad expectation is a return later this year, with December 2026 the current target. Conor Bradley is in a similar bracket in terms of timeline, though the injury is different. He has not featured since January after suffering a serious knee injury in the defeat to Arsenal, an issue that required surgery. His recovery has been long and cautious, which is exactly what it should be. Liverpool expect him back around November 2026. Federico Chiesa and Giovanni Leoni Close In Federico Chiesa has had another frustrating spell. After summer speculation over his future, he has yet to appear this season following a back injury suffered in the final pre-season friendly against Como. The expectation is that he will resume training during the international break, and if that goes smoothly he could return to contention soon after. The working date is Sunday October 11, against Manchester City at Anfield. Giovanni Leoni is slightly behind that in terms of match readiness, though his recovery is moving forward. The young defender tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on his Liverpool debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup last September. It was a bad injury, and the projected year-long absence has broadly held. Iraola recently said, “I think the next one probably should be Giovanni Leoni, I think the plan is also to start training during the break, with the group.” That means progress, though competitive minutes will come later. Late October 2026 remains the likely target. For Liverpool, the picture is simple. Gomez may be next. Chiesa and Leoni are getting closer. Ekitike and Bradley still require patience. Availability changes seasons, and Liverpool need more of it, fast.