Liverpool Wins Champions League Opener but Faces Gakpo Injury Concern
Liverpool’s Champions League campaign began with a win – and a warning.
They edged Atletico 2–1 in their league-phase opener, but did it without one of their sharpest weapons. Cody Gakpo never even made the bench.
The Dutch forward had skipped Tuesday’s key training session and, by kick-off, the reason became clear. Head coach Iraola revealed afterwards that Gakpo had picked up niggles in both adductors during his previous 90-minute outing. Not a torn muscle. Not a long lay-off. Just enough pain to take the decision out of everyone’s hands.
Liverpool coped on the night. Long term, that’s another story.
Gakpo blow disrupts flying start
Under his new manager, Gakpo has exploded into the season. One goal, three assists, three games. Those are the numbers of a player not just in form, but driving a new attacking blueprint.
His last league appearance underlined it. On Friday he went the distance, 90 full-blooded minutes, and ripped through Ipswich Town. He laid on both goals for Alexander Isak in a controlled 2–0 win, the kind of performance that makes a forward feel untouchable and a manager build a team around him.
Then came the adductors.
“We expected to have him for today, [but] it hasn’t been possible,” Iraola admitted on the club’s official channels after the Atletico game. “He doesn’t have a proper injury, but he finished with niggles in both of the adductors the other day. It’s not a big thing, but the problem is we play here [again] in two days and a half.”
That schedule is the real opponent now.
Race against the clock for Fulham
Liverpool’s win over Atletico bought them early European momentum, but it also underlined the physical strain on the squad. The turnaround to the weekend is brutal, and Fulham are next on the same pitch in just two and a half days.
Iraola did not hide the uncertainty.
“I don’t know [if he will be back for Fulham]. I hope so, but I don’t know,” he said. Optimism, yes. Guarantees, no.
The staff do not see Gakpo’s issue as a serious, long-term concern. There is no talk of weeks on the sidelines, no looming scans dictating the narrative of Liverpool’s season. What there is, though, is soreness in a key area for a player whose game relies on sharp changes of direction, acceleration, and constant movement.
Push him too soon and a “niggle” becomes a problem. Rest him and you blunt one of the most dangerous forwards in the league’s early weeks.
Recovery, rotation and a selection headache
The Atletico win demanded a huge shift from the squad. Iraola was quick to point to the collective effort and the reality of the next 48 hours.
“I think now is a moment of recovery in these two days,” he said. “Let’s see how Bradley has finished, how Cody is [and] if he can give us some minutes. If not, Rio, Victor, I think today everyone has done a big effort.”
That line says plenty. The door is open for others – Rio, Victor and the rest of the supporting cast – if Gakpo cannot go. But the manager clearly wants his in-form forward available, even if only from the bench.
“We need to recover, we need to regroup and think because in two days and a half we play again here [against] Fulham, it’s a very important game again for us. So, I hope we can have Cody with us, but I cannot guarantee it.”
Liverpool have their win. They have their early Champions League foothold. What they don’t yet know is whether the player who has lit up their start to the season will be fit enough to help them keep pace when Fulham arrive.
