Liverpool Afternoon Round-Up, Thursday 22nd October 2026: Barcola and Munoz Injury Worries Ahead of Brighton Clash
Liverpool have a couple of fresh fitness concerns to monitor before the weekend's trip to face Brighton. Bradley Barcola trained alone at the AXA Centre on Thursday while Victor Munoz was also absent, with reasons for both absences explained by the club's watchers (Liverpool.com) (This Is Anfield) (Liverpool Echo). Liverpool Echo adds that Barcola's situation gives Andoni Iraola something to think about this week (Liverpool Echo). There is better clarity on another fitness issue, with a return timeline for Dominik Szoboszlai reportedly revealed following his hamstring problem (This Is Anfield). Iraola will face the media on Friday in his pre-Brighton press conference, which fans can watch live (LiverpoolFC.com).
Despite the injury list, there's a positive mood around the club. Liverpool Echo's Paul Gorst notes that Iraola's evolving side have so far avoided being tagged a "crisis club" amid quiet progress this season (Liverpool Echo). In Europe, Liverpool.com reports a supercomputer rates the Reds' Champions League qualification chances highly after a perfect start to the group stage (Liverpool.com), while the Guardian's review of the competition highlighted the excitement among Anfield fans over teenager Rio Ngumoha (The Guardian). There's also fan footage doing the rounds of Ronald Araujo celebrating from the crowd during the Villarreal match (LiverpoolFC.com).
On the transfer front, former Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah has addressed speculation linking him with a return to Anfield as well as interest from Arsenal, following a strong run of form at Bayer Leverkusen (Liverpool.com).
Elsewhere, Jurgen Klopp has spoken movingly about still struggling to process the death of Diogo Jota, admitting he feels "lost for words" (Liverpool.com). Klopp also revealed how he broke his usual transfer approach in order to sign Jota for Liverpool (This Is Anfield). A new biography of Jota has been released by the club, with proceeds going to a fitting cause (This Is Anfield), and within it Jota's widow, Rute Cardoso, has recalled the heartbreaking moment she learned of his passing (Liverpool.com).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.