Andoni Iraola in line for pre-season boost as Liverpool trio set to return after World Cup exploits | OneFootball

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola is in line for a boost to his pre-season preparations as he begins to sink his teeth into his new role.

The Reds are due to fly out to Chicago today for a two-week tour to the United States, basing themselves in the Illinois city for camp and playing friendlies against Sunderland (Saturday in Nashville), Wrexham (29 July in New York) and Leeds (2 August in Chicago).

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A number of first-team players will be absent from the initial travelling party as they continue to enjoy time off after their World Cup involvement, but the squad is set to be boosted during the Stateside tour.

Liverpool trio set to join the squad next weekend

As reported by James Pearce for The Athletic, Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak are all expected to link up with the squad next weekend, missing the Sunderland game but set to be available for the subsequent two fixtures.

It’s now been roughly three weeks since Netherlands, Germany and Sweden all exited the World Cup in the round-of-32 stage in the space of 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the injured trio of Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley will also travel to the USA, where they’ll continue with their respective rehabilitations.

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A welcome boost for Iraola and Liverpool

Iraola will no doubt be delighted to have Gravenberch, Wirtz and Isak available for most of the pre-season tour, with the head coach now due to get ample time working with the trio as the Liverpool squad become familiarised with how he works.

Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Alisson Becker should also return imminently, with at least a fortnight having now passed since their respective World Cup exits, although Alexis Mac Allister and Victor Munoz won’t report for duty until next month as their nations reached the final.

LFC as a collective will have a point to prove in 2026/27 after the woes of last season, and that rings especially true for Wirtz and Isak, both of whom fell short of initial expectations after their £100m+ moves to Anfield.

Iraola will be particularly reliant on the Swedish striker to remain fit and firing over the next few months, with Ekitike not due to return from his Achilles injury until the festive period at the end of this year.

With the World Cup now over and the first official match of the 44-year-old’s reign just under a month away, the new campaign is swinging rapidly into view, and with it comes the opportunity to put the travails of 2025/26 firmly behind us.