Andoni Iraola downplayed the severity of Dominik Szoboszlai’s latest setback although warned that Jeremie Frimpong will be sidelined until the other side of the November international break.

Despite coming through the daunting ordeal of traveling to Brentford, Iraola was not entirely enthused in his postmatch press conference. The victorious Liverpool boss called it a “very expensive” victory, pointing toward the two players who had been forced off with muscular issues.

Szoboszlai was the most notable, dropping to the turf after half an hour with a recurrence of the thigh injury which had forced him to miss Liverpool’s previous two fixtures. Iraola had fretted that his star midfielder would be sidelined “for some time” but there was more optimism in his subsequent update in the week.

While a return for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Villarreal was out of the question, the Basque boss assured fans that their No. 8 had not sustained any more damage. “It’s not a new injury, it’s in the same place as last week, he has not worsened the injury, but we have to be a bit more patient until he recovers fully,” Iraola warned.

“It is not like we now have to wait a lot of time to come back.”

Frimpong’s recovery, however, will take some time. The fullback lasted just six minutes against Brentford, hobbling off shortly after his halftime introduction having initially been rested following the midweek trip to Austria. “Jeremie has a new muscle injury and we will have to wait until he recovers,” Iraola reflected. “It’s going to be difficult I think before the international break.”

‘Not the One You Are Thinking’—Iraola Teases Liverpool Starting XI vs. Villarreal

Injuries aside, Iraola has warned that he will have to use the full width and breadth of his roster during Liverpool’s pile of key fixtures over the coming weeks. The manager did well to win convincingly against LASK while rotating heavily and has teased a similar set of changes for the visit of Villarreal.

“I am thinking of putting the best starting XI that I can against Villarreal,” he told assembled media. “But maybe it is not the one that you are thinking, because some players are not fresh enough.

“Probably it is better if someone is more fresh to start but I am analyzing the game, how can I put a good starting XI and think in the second half, how can we affect [the game] with the changes?”

The Liverpool Players Most at Risk of Injury

Data via Simon Brundish. The Fatigue Index is on a scale of 0–100, anything above 65 is in the ‘red zone.’

Using a combination of nine different statistics based upon what has historically preceded previous injuries, combined with the track record of the individual in question, Simon Brundish has created a ‘Fatigue Index’ which can offer a loose prediction of which players are at risk of breaking down.

Liverpool’s unusually susceptible goalkeeper Alisson could be rested in favor of Giorgi Mamardashvili in midweek to prevent yet another hamstring injury, while the tireless Florian Wirtz could be at risk of running himself into the ground. Putting his questionable chance creation to one side, there is no debate in his running statistics: Wirtz has covered six miles more than anyone else at the club.

The German playmaker boasted the most overworked odometer once again against Brentford, which was a draining contest for all involved. “I think it was the most demanding game in terms of the running stats that we have played, because Brentford demand this,” Iraola moaned. “It is important that every one that starts tomorrow feels ready to go and 100%.”