Of the 31 Liverpool players who flew out to Chicago on Monday for the club’s pre-season tour to the United States, several are carrying injuries and won’t participate in the three matches being played on the trip.
Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic have all been included in the travelling party, even though they won’t play any part in the games against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds as they continue with their respective recoveries.
Andoni Iraola stated that the French forward and Northern Ireland right-back will be sidelined for another few months. Giovanni Leoni is also with the squad in the USA while he continues his rehabilitation from a long-term ACL injury.
In an article for the Liverpool Echo, Paul Gorst explained why the injured players have travelled with the squad rather than remaining on Merseyside whilst being out of action.
He wrote: ‘Eyebrows were raised when Liverpool announced Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike in their 31-man squad list for this tour on Monday afternoon, leading many to immediately speculate that both players’ long-term injuries had improved significantly.
‘However, it’s understood the duo – alongside Stefan Bajcetic and Wataru Endo – will simply continue their respective rehabs on the tour. The feeling is that all four will benefit from being around the group rather than sessions alone at an empty AXA Training Centre over the next fortnight.’
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We don’t doubt for a moment that the decision for the injured players to fly to the USA was only taken after extensive consultation with the club’s medical staff, whose expertise we trust fully.
With that in mind, it seems only right that Bradley, Ekitike, Bajcetic and Endo were allowed to travel, keeping them firmly in the main group rather than being consigned to training in isolation back in Kirkby.
From Iraola’s perspective, the time he’ll spend with that quartet – and indeed the rest of the squad – will provide a valuable insight on how they liaise with their teammates and conduct themselves on a day-to-day basis.
We’re sure that the injured players greatly appreciate being included among the travelling party and getting to interact with their new boss, who in turn will be keen to get to know each of them.
Unfortunately we won’t see Bradley or Ekitike on the pitch for quite some time, but hopefully the other injury absentees will be cleared for action sooner rather than later, especially once we get into the autumn and Liverpool are regularly playing three matches in the space of seven or eight days.
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Taking them as a ‘group concerned’ is a bloody smart move. They won’t play BUT they will be listening and learning our new style. Very sensible of Iraola indeed.
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