Liverpool injury update: Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai latest news and return dates

Liverpool will be battling some significant fitness issues during the international break.

Nevertheless, it’s a chance for Andoni Iraola to take stock of where his team is at and build towards a huge game at home to a Manchester United side currently in the Premier League relegation zone.

Virgil van Dijk

The Liverpool captain was called up by new Dutch head coach Xavi for the Nations League double-header against Greece and Germany.

However, it was confirmed on Monday that he - and Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey - had pulled out of the squad for fitness related reasons.

A statement reads: “Virgil van Dijk and Brian Brobbey have been dropped from the Dutch national team's upcoming international matches. Both players did not return fit from the past weekend's matches and are therefore unavailable.

“The squad thus currently consists of 23 players.”

Virgil van Dijk has pulled out of the Netherlands squad

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Potential return date: Sunday November 22, vs Manchester United (H)

Dominik Szoboszlai

Szoboszlai will be assessed to determine his fitness for international duty with Hungary.

The midfielder was forced off in the second half against Palace due to a knee complaint and Iraola admitted afterwards that the Reds No8 was not fully fit.

“Dom definitely wasn’t 100 per cent in the second half,” Iraola said. "Let’s see. The last thing we need now is to lose players in the international games.

Dominik Szoboszlai was dealing with a knee complaint in the win over Crystal Palace

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"In the last international break we lost three very important players in Alex (Isak), Cody (Gakpo) and Dom. So now I'm praying - it's the last thing we need.”

Potential return date: Sunday November 22, vs Manchester United (H)

Ryan Gravenberch

“The only doubt we will have is Ryan,” Iraola said in the pre-Crystal Palace press conference. “The others will be the same as we have been.

“The Ryan Gravenberch thing is a day-to-day thing, it’s a matter of pain. Let’s see if he can deal with the pain and he can help us.”

Ryan Gravenberch is struggling with a heel injury

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With the injury severe enough to prevent the midfielder from being called up by Xavi for the Netherlands’ Nations League double-header, Gravenberch must be considered a major doubt to face Man United.

Potential return date: Sunday November 22, vs Manchester United (H)

Jeremie Frimpong

Jeremie Frimpong picked up a muscle injury during the comeback win over Brentford last month, resulting in another lay-off for the full-back since his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen.

Like compatriots Van Dijk and Gravenberch, he will not be representing the Dutch during the international break and it’s believed his return is not too far away.

In the most recent update of Frimpong, Iraola said: “Jeremie Frimpong is obviously a new muscle injury and it happened, I think, in the second or third minute he was playing, difficult to predict and we will have to wait until he recovers.

Jeremie Frimpong has not had much luck with injury since joining Liverpool

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“But it’s going to be difficult, I think, before the [November international] break. We will try but it’s going to be difficult to have him.”

Potential return date: Sunday November 22, vs Manchester United (H)

Giovanni Leoni

Giovanno Leoni signed for Liverpool from Parma last summer in a deal worth around £26million, but a serious knee injury means he has been limited to just one senior appearance so far.

The centre-back made his debut in the Carabao Cup against Southampton in September 2025, but he was stretchered off and it was later confirmed that he had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear.

He was expected to miss a full year of action, which has proved to be the case.

Comeback imminent: Giovanni Leoni

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He had hoped to have made his comeback for the recent September international break, but that has since been delayed.

“It’s taking more time than we wanted,” Iraola said. “The planning was to train with the team in this past international break [but] probably it’s going to be in the next international break, so we’ve lost one month in the process.

“Giovanni’s injury, I wasn’t here but talking to the medical department, it was not just an ACL – it was a bad injury, a lot of things around the knee were involved apart from the ACL.”

Potential return date: December 2026

Hugo Ekitike

Hugo Ekitike has not played since rupturing his Achilles against Paris Saint-Germain in April.

The Frenchman was forced to sit out the end of last season and the World Cup, where it was estimated that he would be out for nine months to a full year.

He was included in Iraola’s squad for the Champions League league phase - which came as a surprise to many - with the hope that he could potentially return for the final two games in January, against Inter Milan and Lens.

Comeback trail: Hugo Ekitike

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The striker is thought to be targeting a comeback before the turn of the year.

Potential return date: December

Conor Bradley

Conor Bradley is another long-term absentee for Liverpool, having suffered a serious knee injury at Arsenal back in January.

The Northern Ireland international suffered bone and ligament damage in that match, which has kept him out for almost a year.

Iraola’s latest comments were positive, indicating that Bradley will soon return to full training.

“[He is] doing very well,” Iraola said. “I think [he is] in a good place. Conor is not so far from training with the group – not like full training but doing some things with the group.

“I think Conor is not very far from starting doing things with us."

It looks as though he could rejoin team training during the November international break.

Potential return date: Wednesday, December 2 vs Sunderland (H)