Iraola Addresses Barcola and Gakpo Fitness Ahead of Fulham Clash
Liverpool head into the weekend still unbeaten and still juggling fitness calls, as Andoni Iraola offered a mixed bulletin on Bradley Barcola, Cody Gakpo and long‑term absentee Hugo Ekitike ahead of Fulham’s visit to Anfield.
The winless Cottagers arrive for a 3pm kickoff on Saturday, walking into a stadium buoyed by Wednesday night’s 2-1 comeback over Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. That game, and its aftermath, shaped much of Iraola’s pre‑match briefing.
Barcola scare eased
Barcola, the £123 million headline signing of the summer, had triggered concern when he went off on the hour mark against Atletico looking uncomfortable. With the fee, the expectations and the schedule Liverpool now face, any hint of a setback for the France international was always going to cause anxiety.
Iraola moved quickly to shut that down.
“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,” he said on Friday.
Cramp, not muscle damage. Tiredness, not a tear. For Liverpool, that is as close to a best‑case scenario as they could have hoped for after a high‑intensity European night.
Gakpo remains a doubt
The news on Gakpo was less clear.
The Dutch forward missed the Atletico win entirely after picking up an adductor problem against Ipswich Town last week. His sharp start to the league season – one goal and three assists in Liverpool’s opening three Premier League games – has made his absence feel heavier than usual in a squad already stretched by early‑season demands.
“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.
So the decision on Gakpo goes right up to the final session. If he doesn’t come through that, Liverpool lose one of their most productive attackers just as the fixtures begin to stack up.
Ekitike’s long road back
Hugo Ekitike is on a different timeline altogether.
The striker ruptured his Achilles in April, a brutal injury that has written off most of his year and forced Liverpool to think long term rather than week to week. Iraola made it clear the forward is still some distance from returning, even if there is a flicker of hope around the turn of the year.
“Hugo, it’s difficult with these long-term injuries,” the Liverpool boss 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.”
So Ekitike’s name sits on the European squad list as a calculated gamble: a bet that his recovery can align with the decisive weeks of the group stage and the start of the new year.
For now, Liverpool turn back to the immediate task. Fulham at Anfield, an unbeaten record to protect, and a manager weighing up whether one of his in‑form forwards can be risked while another, the club’s marquee signing, shakes off cramp and prepares to go again.
