Cody Gakpo's Fitness Concerns Ahead of Fulham Clash

Andoni Iraola is bracing for another anxious wait over Cody Gakpo as Liverpool prepare to welcome Alvaro Arbeloa back to Anfield in the opposite dugout.

The Dutch forward missed Wednesday night’s win over Atletico Madrid with what Iraola described as “adductor issues”, and his involvement against Fulham is still hanging in the balance.

Gakpo a major doubt, Barcola ready to go

Gakpo did not train on Thursday and will be put through his paces late on Friday in a final attempt to clear him for the Premier League clash.

“[With] Cody, we will see. He didn't train yesterday. Today, we will try with him and let's see if he's ready for tomorrow or we need to wait for the next one,” Iraola said at his pre-match press conference.

Liverpool will at least be boosted by the availability of Bradley Barcola. The winger, who impressed on his full debut against Atletico before being forced off in the second half, has avoided any serious setback.

“Yes, Barcola was just cramps,” Iraola explained. “Obviously he finished tight in the game and then we have to evaluate with how are things today – but there's no injury. He should be available if everything goes normal.”

The relief is obvious. Barcola’s direct running and energy gave Liverpool a different dimension in the 2-1 victory over Atletico, and with Gakpo doubtful, his fitness arrives at just the right time.

Gomez close, Chiesa still building, long-term trio out

Joe Gomez is edging towards a return after a muscle issue suffered in pre-season, offering Iraola another defensive option as the fixtures begin to stack up. Federico Chiesa remains on his own recovery path, still being carefully managed after injury.

There is no such short-term optimism for the long-term absentees. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni remain sidelined, with Ekitike’s situation the most complex after his ruptured Achilles tendon.

Iraola struck a cautious but quietly hopeful tone when discussing the forward’s prospects of featuring in Europe later in the season.

“I think it's difficult with these long-term injuries, I think he's still far [away],” he admitted. “But we had a meeting with the medical department to analyse when we completed the [squad] list for the European games. There is a reasonable chance that he could help us in the last two games of the group stages.

“But it's still very early to say. It's very early because it's a long-term injury [and] a big part of the rehab [he] is still to meet. But if we decide to put him there, it is because there is a hope and there is a realistic chance that he could help us in January.”

For now, Iraola’s focus is on squeezing every drop from the players currently available. The win over Atletico, secured by a side featuring Alisson, Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Barcola, Wirtz, Ngumoha and Isak, underlined the depth and versatility at his disposal when the pieces are fit.

Arbeloa’s Anfield return

On the other side, Arbeloa heads back to a stadium he knows intimately, but this time with a very different responsibility and a very real problem: he is still searching for his first Premier League points as Fulham head coach.

Tom Cairney is set to be Fulham’s only absentee for the trip to Merseyside, the midfielder ruled out with a knee injury. Arbeloa will wait on the final training session before confirming the rest of his squad.

“We have to wait until the last training session,” he said. “But just Tom [is currently out injured] and we will see after the training session if everyone is ready.”

Fulham arrive on the back of a chaotic 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace, a game that laid bare both their attacking potential and their defensive fragility. Leno, Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Charles, Iwobi, Bobb, King, Palacios and Garcia started that match, and Arbeloa knows that structure and resilience must sharpen quickly if they are to withstand the intensity of Anfield.

For the Spaniard, this is more than just another away fixture.

“It will be so special,” he admitted. “I went back when I was a Real Madrid player but now it's my first time as a coach. Anfield will always be a special place for me.”

“We have a massive game for us and we have been working really hard this week. We know that we have to improve and we need to adjust some parts of our game.”

Emotion, pressure and early-season stakes

Arbeloa made 98 appearances for Liverpool between 2007 and 2009, and he knows exactly what kind of noise and emotion will greet him when he steps out of the tunnel. Sentiment, though, will last only until the first whistle. After that, it becomes a hard, tactical test: Iraola’s high-energy, front-foot football against a Fulham side desperate to stop a losing habit before it takes root.

Liverpool’s own selection puzzle, with Gakpo’s fitness in question and key players still working back to full sharpness, adds another layer of intrigue. The home side showed against Atletico that they can grind and find a way; Fulham, beaten by Palace but dangerous in flashes, must prove they can do the same in one of the most unforgiving arenas in the league.

Anfield will salute one of its former full-backs. It will not show any mercy to his new team.