Liverpool injury news ahead of Fenerbahce as Frimpong, Bradley and Ekitike timelines become clearer

Liverpool head to Turkey needing a response. The 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal was poor by any standard, and the lack of a single shot on target made it worse. In the Premier League, the gap to the leaders is now nine points. In the Champions League, however, the picture is far healthier.

Three wins from three, against Atletico Madrid, LASK and Villarreal, have put Liverpool in control of their group stage campaign. Beat Fenerbahce and the route to the knockout rounds opens up considerably. For Andoni Iraola, that matters. This team has already shown it can cope in Europe, even while dealing with a lengthy injury list.

There was at least some encouragement against Arsenal. Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Munoz both returned, which gave Iraola two more options immediately. Beyond that, though, there is no sudden wave of recoveries coming before this trip.

Here is the current state of play on Liverpool injury news, and what it means for the weeks ahead.

Jeremie Frimpong facing further wait

Jeremie Frimpong has barely managed any rhythm since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen, and the latest setback has followed a familiar pattern. The Dutch full-back suffered a muscle injury in the comeback win over Brentford last month, and the timing was especially frustrating. He went down early, which left little room for optimism from the outset.

Iraola was blunt when discussing the problem: “Jeremie Frimpong is obviously a new muscle injury and it happened, I think, in the second or third minute he was playing, difficult to predict and we will have to wait until he recovers.

“But it’s going to be difficult, I think, before the [November international] break. We will try but it’s going to be difficult to have him.”

That points to a return after the next international pause, which would mean six straight matches missed. More broadly, it underlines Liverpool’s issue at right-back depth. Frimpong was signed to add thrust, speed and attacking width. So far, he has spent too much time on the treatment table and not enough on the pitch.

Conor Bradley close to training return

There is better news with Conor Bradley. The right-back has been out for a long time after surgery on bone and ligament damage in his left knee, an injury suffered late in the goalless draw away to Arsenal in January. The timeline has been cautious, and understandably so.

Now, for the first time in a while, Iraola sounds positive. “Doing very well,” he said. “I think [he is] in a good place. Conor is not so far from training with the group, not like full training but doing some things with the group.

“I think Conor is not very far from starting doing things with us.”

That does not mean an immediate return to first-team football. Liverpool are likely to stage-manage the process, with minutes for the Under-21s before he is thrown back into senior action. Still, the important point is clear enough, Bradley is moving again, and he is moving in the right direction.

Given Frimpong’s absence, Bradley’s recovery could ease a pressure point in the squad. He may not be available for Fenerbahce, but his return is now visible rather than theoretical.

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Hugo Ekitike targeting earlier comeback

Hugo Ekitike remains one of Liverpool’s biggest long-term concerns, but there is at least some intrigue around his recovery. The forward has not played since rupturing his right Achilles tendon in the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain in April. It was a serious injury, and the original expectation was nine to 12 months out.

That should have placed any realistic comeback between January and April 2027. Yet Liverpool included him in the Champions League squad list, which was a signal in itself. Clubs do not make that sort of call for decoration.

The hope is that Ekitike could feature in the final two league phase matches in January, against Inter Milan and Lens. There is also growing belief that his comeback could come even earlier. Reports from France suggest he is targeting a return before the end of the year after visiting a specialist in the United States.

If that proves accurate, Liverpool would gain a serious attacking option at a crucial point in the campaign. Achilles injuries are tricky, and there is no value in rushing the process. But his inclusion in the European squad was a hint that the medical staff see enough progress to keep that door open.

Giovanni Leoni recovery taking longer than planned

Giovanni Leoni’s first Liverpool season has been almost entirely wiped out. Signed from Parma for around £26 million, the young centre-back has made just one senior appearance, in the Carabao Cup against Southampton in September 2025. It was going well until it suddenly was not. He landed awkwardly near the touchline, needed lengthy treatment and was taken off on a stretcher.

The diagnosis was severe, an anterior cruciate ligament tear, with wider damage around the knee. That extra detail matters because it explains why the recovery has dragged beyond the original hope.

Iraola laid it out clearly: “It’s taking more time than we wanted. The planning was to train with the team in this past international break [but] probably it’s going to be in the next international break, so we’ve lost one month in the process.

“Giovanni’s injury, I wasn’t here but talking to the medical department, it was not just an ACL, it was a bad injury, a lot of things around the knee were involved apart from the ACL.”

That is the reality. Leoni is progressing, but slowly, and Liverpool are not about to gamble with a young defender coming off a major knee injury. The best-case scenario remains a return to grass work during November’s international window, with competitive football still some way off.

For now, Liverpool’s priority is simple. Get through Fenerbahce, strengthen their Champions League position, and buy time for the squad to heal. The Premier League setback against Arsenal hurt, but Europe offers a cleaner immediate target. With Bradley nearing a return, Frimpong at least on the countdown, and Ekitike and Leoni still working through longer recoveries, the squad is not getting fixed overnight. It does, however, look slightly less stretched than it did a few weeks ago.

That is enough for the moment. Liverpool need points, not promises.