Joe Gomez limps off as Andoni Iraola era begins with Liverpool win over Sunderland in Nashville

Andoni Iraola described Joe Gomez’s early injury as “the worst news” of his Liverpool reign so far, despite opening pre-season with a 4-2 victory over Sunderland in Nashville.

The defender, starting at centre-back and wearing the captain’s armband, was forced off in just the eighth minute of Sunday’s friendly at the start of Liverpool’s United States tour, having limped away from the action.

Goals from Kieran Morrison, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas secured the win, but the focus for Liverpool’s new head coach quickly shifted to his already stretched defensive options.

Early blow for new Liverpool boss

Iraola, taking charge of Liverpool for the first time since arriving from Bournemouth in the close season to replace the sacked Arne Slot, admitted Gomez’s setback was a significant concern.

“Probably the worst news has been straight away the injury of Joe,” he said.

“We were happy because we were kind of going through all the training without losing any player. Unluckily for us, straight away we’ve lost Joe.”

The Spaniard had already highlighted earlier in the week that his squad were “very thin” at the back, and Gomez’s withdrawal in Tennessee underlined that vulnerability.

New signing Jeremy Jacquet is still being carefully managed after his own fitness issues, while Giovanni Leoni is only now working his way back from a long-term absence.

“With Jeremy, we decided to take it easy with him. He has been a lot of months without playing with a shoulder injury,” Iraola explained.

“So, I think we are going to take it easy with him. He will play probably the last game of this US tour and he will have time to have minutes.”

Win offers platform for US tour

On the pitch, Liverpool’s attacking performance ensured Iraola began his tenure with a win in the tour opener in Nashville.

Morrison, Szoboszlai, Chiesa and Koumas all found the net as Liverpool outscored Sunderland in an entertaining encounter, although the game also exposed the physical toll of recent training sessions.

“A lot of things to correct, obviously, it’s the first day. You could feel the heavy legs, the players have been training,” Iraola said.

“So, we lacked some freshness. But it will give us a good starting point to improve things.”

Liverpool now head to New York to face Wrexham before taking on Leeds in Chicago on Thursday morning, fixtures Iraola hopes will build on the foundation laid against Sunderland.

Key players returning after World Cup

Virgil van Dijk has been granted an extended break after his involvement with the Netherlands at the World Cup and has yet to link up with the group.

However, Iraola confirmed that Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch are already in Chicago following their post-World Cup holidays and are close to returning to full training with the squad.

The Spaniard will be hoping those reinforcements, along with a positive prognosis for Gomez, can ease his defensive concerns as Liverpool continue their preparations for the new season in the United States.