Ryan Gravenberch has been ruled out of Liverpool's Champions League trip to Fenerbahce on Wednesday with a heel injury, in a fresh blow confirmed by the club on Tuesday morning.
The Netherlands midfielder will not travel to Istanbul and will instead remain at the AXA Training Centre for treatment, Liverpool said in a statement reported by Sports Mole. The severity of the injury is not yet clear.
A surprise absence after the Arsenal defeat
Gravenberch was an unused substitute in Sunday's 1-0 Premier League defeat to Arsenal, when teenager Trey Nyoni and Alexis Mac Allister were preferred in midfield. Andoni Iraola gave no hint after that game that the omission was enforced, talking up Nyoni's qualities instead, so Gravenberch had been expected to feature in Turkey.
Instead, his name is missing from Liverpool's official 22-man travelling squad, which departed John Lennon Airport on Tuesday morning for Wednesday's 5.45pm GMT kick-off at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium. Iraola is expected to give a fuller update at his press conference in Istanbul on Tuesday evening.
The 24-year-old can also be considered an early doubt for Sunday's Premier League game against Crystal Palace, continuing a stop-start season. He has made 12 appearances in all competitions but only four Premier League starts, was sent off in the 3-0 home defeat by Manchester City, and missed the win at Brentford through suspension, even though he completed the full 90 minutes in Liverpool's last two European games against LASK Linz and Villarreal.
Szoboszlai returns as the injury list grows
There is better news in the same squad list: Dominik Szoboszlai has travelled after recovering from a hamstring problem and a subsequent setback, and is likely to come straight back into the midfield alongside Mac Allister and Nyoni.
Gravenberch is nevertheless one of five absentees for Iraola. Compatriot Jeremie Frimpong is out with a thigh injury until after the international break, Hugo Ekitike is not expected back from an Achilles injury until January, and Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley are also sidelined with knee problems until the winter.
So what does it mean for Liverpool in Istanbul?
Liverpool sit third in the league-phase table as one of only five teams with a perfect record after three games, a run analysed in our look at Arsenal's record defence at Anfield. A fourth straight win in Istanbul would put them firmly on course for the top eight and a direct place in the last 16, and would also lift some of the gloom from Sunday's home defeat.
But midfield is suddenly the thinnest part of this squad. Without Gravenberch, Iraola must trust a returning Szoboszlai, a 19-year-old in Nyoni and Mac Allister to control a difficult away night, with Crystal Palace waiting on Sunday and no room for another setback to any of them.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Gravenberch's season keeps stopping just as it starts, and that is now a problem for Liverpool, not just for him. A player who finished both of the last two European games should be undroppable in Istanbul; instead Liverpool travel with a patched-up midfield and a press conference nobody wanted. If Szoboszlai is not fully ready, this perfect European start is in real danger.
Can Liverpool make it four wins from four in Istanbul without Gravenberch? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
