Andoni Iraola given significant double Liverpool boost from almost 4,000 miles away | OneFootball

Two more Liverpool players have returned from their World Cup exploits to begin their preparations for the upcoming season.

The Reds squad which flew out to Chicago last week for their pre-season tour of the United States was missing several familiar names who were enjoying some well-earned downtime after representing their countries on the global stage.

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Ryan Gravenberch, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz linked up with the team’s training camp in Illinois over the weekend, and two of their teammates have also returned from their post-tournament holidays.

Van Dijk and Gakpo back training in Liverpool

On Tuesday morning, Liverpool’s official X profile shared photos of Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo checking in at the AXA Training Centre, four weeks after Netherlands’ World Cup exit at the hands of Morocco.

The Dutch duo were granted additional time off by Iraola after the tournament, with the Reds’ number 18 suffering a heartbreaking tragedy last month when his partner Noa van der Bij had a miscarriage.

Having reported to Kirkby to begin pre-season testing today, both players are set to make their matchday comebacks against Monaco at Anfield on 9 August, rather than flying out to meet up with the squad in Chicago, 3,782 miles from Merseyside.

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Big boost for Iraola whilst almost 4,000 miles away from Liverpool

Although Iraola won’t have either Van Dijk or Gakpo to call upon for the remainder of the U.S. tour, their returns to the AXA Training Centre will have been warmly welcomed by the head coach.

Liverpool could probably have done with their captain being with the squad in America, seeing as their other three senior centre-backs are all sidelined with injuries of varying severity, but the coaching staff will be conscious of not overloading a 35-year-old who’s played more than 6,000 minutes for club and country in the past 12 months.

His compatriot was also understandably given additional time off after his family tragedy, and it was uplifting to see him back in training today and seemingly in good spirits.

Whilst Gakpo is getting back up to speed on Merseyside, Rio Ngumoha has the opportunity to stake a lasting claim for first-team starts in the upcoming season during the U.S. tour, and the summer arrival of Victor Munoz has added further competition for the left-sided attacking berth.

By the time the Liverpool squad are back on Merseyside and preparing for the Anfield friendlies against Monaco and Como next month, the Dutch duo should be raring to go and primed to show Iraola that both will be crucial players for the Reds yet again in 2026/27!