Iraola Eases Barcola Injury Fears After Liverpool’s Atletico Win
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has moved to calm fears over Bradley Barcola’s fitness following his apparent injury during the Reds’ 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid.
Discussing the forward’s withdrawal after the Champions League curtain-raiser for the 2026/27 campaign, Iraola explained that the issue was simply cramp, noting that Barcola in particular felt its effects.
The manager added that the club had been managing the player’s return carefully, but on this occasion asked him to push himself to the limit, with the plan now being to monitor his recovery closely given Liverpool’s quick turnaround before their next fixture in just three days.
Barcola’s night in Liverpool colours on the European stage didn’t yield a direct goal involvement, and his evening was cut short when the injury forced him off the pitch.
