Liverpool were dealt an early setback in their first pre-season friendly on their tour of the United States, with Joe Gomez going off injured inside the opening 10 minutes against Sunderland.
The Reds’ longest-serving current player was selected as captain for the game in Nashville, partnering youngster Mor Talla Ndiaye at centre-back, but his evening’s work was over almost as soon as it started.
There were only eight minutes on the clock when the 29-year-old went to ground and required treatment, and it was instantly apparent that he wouldn’t be able to continue.
Although Gomez picked himself up from the turf, he walked straight off the pitch as Andoni Iraola took no chances by substituting him to bring on Ifeanyi Ndukwe, with Kostas Tsimikas assuming the captain’s armband.
As Lewis Steele observed on X, the sight of Liverpool’s number 2 sitting on the ground was one that no Reds supporter wanted to see, adding: ‘The need for a defender gets even bigger’.
The sight no #LFC fan wanted to see: Joe Gomez is injured.
The need for a defender gets even bigger. pic.twitter.com/4TZNXjauIc
— Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) July 25, 2026
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Iraola put his cards on the table straight away in his introductory press conference earlier this month when openly stating that more signings are needed at Anfield this summer, and his pleas to FSG are se to grow even louder on Sunday once tonight’s match is out of the way.
Liverpool had suffered another defensive injury blow before kick-off when it emerged that new arrival Jeremy Jacquet wold miss the Sunderland match due to a minor knock, although it’s expected that he’ll resume training during the tour to the USA (Liverpool Echo).
We haven’t even reached half-time in the first pre-season friendly of the summer and the Reds have already had injuries to two centre-backs, while Virgil van Dijk is yet to return to the fold after his World Cup involvement with Netherlands, and Giovanni Leoni is continuing his recovery from an ACL rupture.
Matches such as this may well be the perfect setting in which to try out young players and assess how they perform at first-team level, but the presence of Ndiaye and Ndukwe as our centre-back partnership after just a few minutes in Nashville lays bare the dearth of options available to Iraola.
Hopefully the knock which forced Gomez off tonight isn’t serious and he’ll soon be able to resume playing. Nevertheless, the need for defensive reinforcements in the remaining weeks of the transfer window must now be screaming at FSG in the face.
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To pretend that Gomez is an option is ridiculous, he’s never been right since he was crunched at Burnley. Time to get him fit and move him on.
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