Andoni Iraola's Liverpool: Isak Takes Center Stage

Andoni Iraola’s first competitive game in charge of Liverpool comes with a familiar Premier League backdrop: a packed Anfield, a heavyweight opponent in Newcastle United – and a medical bulletin that already shapes his hand.

The new head coach walks into Sunday’s opener knowing several key pieces are missing, some for the long haul. Liverpool’s transfer window has been restrained, so the same core that carried pre-season now has to carry the early weeks of the campaign as well.

At the heart of it all sits Alexander Isak.

Isak to shoulder the load

Isak has started Liverpool’s last three friendlies and looks sharp after a strong World Cup with Sweden. The concern isn’t about a specific knock this time, but about his overall load after an injury-hit first season at Anfield.

Iraola made it clear he sees the 26-year-old as central to his plans.

“I think the same as others, an important player for us, in a very good place. Training every day, adding minutes, played a good World Cup with Sweden, fitness levels.

I want to keep him there as much as we can. We know his level, he will score the goals. He will give us a lot of things. My fight with him, the instructions, is off the ball. He wants to score but I try not to judge the strikers if they have or haven't scored.”

With only one game roughly every week in the opening stretch, Liverpool can manage his minutes. They will have to. Hugo Ekitike’s long-term absence means Isak is set to be the main reference in attack for the first few months.

Gomez blow disrupts early plans

The first major setback of pre-season came early. Joe Gomez lasted just 10 minutes of the friendly against Sunderland before pulling up with a muscle problem that immediately raised alarms.

Iraola’s update was blunt but measured.

“Joe will be some weeks off. It's a muscle injury... it is difficult to say [how long], but normally, I always put myself as one month. It's not massive, it's a normal muscle injury, [but] I think it's going to be impossible to have him for the start of the season because we are not so far [away]. It shouldn't be a lot more.”

Liverpool expect Gomez to be sidelined for the opening fixtures, with a realistic target set around the trip to Ipswich Town on Friday, September 4. Until then, Iraola has to juggle his defensive options without one of his most versatile operators.

Long road back for Ekitike and Bradley

The real damage, though, lies in the long-term column.

Hugo Ekitike ruptured his Achilles in April, an injury that always comes with a long and uncertain recovery. Conor Bradley suffered his serious knee problem even earlier in the year and has missed almost all of 2026 so far.

Iraola grouped their situations together in a sobering assessment.

“In terms of order, I think the closest one to returning is Leoni. After will be Conor and Hugo, but especially the last two are still way off. We are talking about months and still a lot of time out.”

Both Ekitike and Bradley are tentatively pencilled in for a return around November or December. Until then, Liverpool must cope without Ekitike’s presence in the final third and Bradley’s energy on the flank.

Leoni the first to re-emerge

There is at least one shaft of light on the horizon. Giovanni Leoni, who has been out with an ACL injury, is expected to be the first of the long-term absentees to make it back.

Again, Iraola set out the order clearly.

“In terms of order, I think the closest one to returning is Leoni. After will be Conor and Hugo, but especially the last two are still way off. We are talking about months and still a lot of time out.”

Leoni is on course to return before Ekitike and Bradley, though his comeback will likely arrive after he has spent close to a full year on the sidelines.

For Iraola, it means the opening months of his Liverpool reign will be defined by trust in a tight group, careful management of Isak, and the hope that those pencilled return dates do not drift deeper into the season.