Andoni Iraola explains Bradley Barcola substitution after injury scare in Liverpool win

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Andoni Iraola provided an update on an injury scare for Bradley Barcola shortly after the final whistle of Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.The £106m signing came into the starting XI to make his full debut for the Reds after joining from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of August, although his match ended prematurely after he went to ground in the opening minutes of the second half and looked worryingly at his calf.The 24-year-old was able to pick himself up and walk off the pitch, although Sky Sports reporter Vinny O’Connor described it as a ‘worry’ for the player and his team after seeing him in discomfort.Iraola downplays Barcola injury fearsSpeaking to TNT Sports shortly after the final whistle, Iraola was asked about the injury concern to Barcola, although the Liverpool head coach downplayed fears of a serious body blow to the winger.The Basque explained (via Sky Sports): “It was just cramps, especially with Bradley. We are rushing him but we decided today to ask him to give everything he had.” (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)Want more Empire of the Kop coverage?

Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustBarcola is still getting back up to speedPrior to his 26 minutes off the bench against Ipswich last Friday, Barcola hadn’t played a match of any description since the World Cup ended in mid-July, so it’s natural that Iraola would’ve wanted to bed him in gently after several weeks of inactivity.The absence of Cody Gakpo tonight may have contributed to the 24-year-old playing from the start, but the Frenchman still managed to get through just under an hour for Liverpool, which is probably most of what the head coach was planning to give him anyway.While our new number 29 forced a couple of good saves from Jan Oblak, he’ll have been disappointed not to score when played through on goal early in the second half, and hopefully that glaring miss will prove to be a mere aberration from him in a red shirt.Thankfully, it seems that Barcola’s substitution was primarily down to managing his fitness rather than being forced to withdraw him with a severe injury, and hopefully he’ll be passed fit to play against Fulham on Saturday.Iraola certainly didn’t seem too worried about him after the final whistle, which bodes well for the winger’s chances of being available at the weekend.