Liverpool injury update: Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa latest news and return dates | OneFootball

Reds face growing injury list ahead of Brighton clash

Liverpool have been dealt a new injury worry ahead of their Premier League showdown against Brighton.

Alexander Isak made his return to the starting lineup for Wednesday’s defeat of Inter Milan at the San Siro, but may not be able to start again on Saturday after picking up a new concern.

Despite his issue, the 1-0 victory was a hugely positive result for the Reds, who have found wins hard to come by this campaign. Those three points lifted them to ninth in the Champions League standings, meaning they are well placed to dodge the dreaded knock-out play-offs.

However, Slot has since lost more forwards and with that said, here is all the latest on the Liverpool injuries and return dates...

Alexander Isak

Alexander Isak has been injured for much of his time at Liverpool, and has picked up yet another issue.

Previewing Liverpool’s Premier League meeting with Brighton, Slot revealed Isak had suffered a knock in the first half against Inter Milan.

It does not seem to be a serious issue, though, given he went on to complete 68 minutes of the match before being replaced by Florian Wirtz.

Slot suggested he would be fit for the Brighton match, but said he may not be fit to start at Anfield: “Alex got a knock in the first half, so let's see if he is able to start tomorrow."

Potential return date: Saturday December 13, vs Brighton (H)

Cody Gakpo

Cody Gakpo was a surprise absentee from Liverpool’s training session on Monday and he was later not named in the squad that made the trip to Italy.

During the press conference, Slot confirmed the Dutchman is set for a spell on the sidelines.

Injury blow: Cody Gakpo

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Slot said: "And Cody Gakpo unfortunately picked up an injury in the last game we played against Leeds and he will be out for a few weeks."

The loss of Gakpo could see Slot pair Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak in attack, potentially as a strike pairing which was the case against Eintracht Frankfurt a couple of months ago.

Potential return date: Unknown

Federico Chiesa

In addition to Gakpo, Federico Chiesa did not travel with the Liverpool squad to Italy because of illness.

Interestingly though, Slot says the Italian could yet join up with the squad a few hours before the game - but stressed it’s unlikely to happen.

"Federico is ill, so that is poor timing you could say. But it's not something you can do anything about,” the Dutchman explained in the pre-match press conference.

He has since confirmed, though, that Chiesa is back in training and will be available to face the Seagulls: “[Chiesa] is not ill anymore, he trained yesterday and will train again today so I assume he will be ready.”

Potential return date: Saturday December 13, vs Brighton (H)

Jeremie Frimpong

The loss of Bradley meant that Jeremie Frimpong’s absence was felt even heavier, with robbing Liverpool of a natural right-sided full-back.

Joe Gomez has filled in in that position in recent weeks, before Bradley’s return at Leeds.

Frimpong, the summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen, has been hampered by another hamstring setback that he suffered in the 5-1 rout of Eintracht Frankfurt back in October.

However, speaking on Frimpong back on November 21, Slot said that the Dutchman would be out “just as long” as Bradley at that time, indicating another few weeks on the sidelines.

Jeremie Frimpong is nearing a return to full fitness

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Now, however, we could potentially see the former Manchester City and Celtic man back in action very soon - perhaps against Brighton - depending on what Slot says this week.

Last week, he revealed that he was hopeful that Frimpong would return to first-team training this coming week.

Potential return date: Saturday December 13, vs Brighton (H)

Giovanni Leoni

It has been a disappointing start to life on Merseyside for Frimpong’s fellow summer recruit.

Leoni suffered an ACL tear on his Anfield debut in the Carabao Cup against Southampton back in September, and he is likely to be out for the remainder of the campaign.

“He is not in a good place, of course, because he tore his ACL and it means he will be out for a year,” Slot said of the young Italian. “Being so young and coming to a new country and playing so well in your first game... it's very hard to take the positive side.

“There's never a positive side - but you always try to look at a positive side and that is that he is still so young, so he has so many years still to go after he recovers from a terrible injury like that.”

Potential return date: Late 2026