Andoni Iraola explains Liverpool decision on six players and gives fresh injury update

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Andoni Iraola reveals the plan for Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Ryan Gravenberch, Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Alisson Becker after their World Cup exertions and the injury latest on five more playersAndoni Iraola will have Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch available for the second half of Liverpool's pre-season tour of the United States.But the new Reds head coach confirmed in a press conference in Chicago on Monday afternoon that club captain Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Alisson Becker will remain on Merseyside for the duration of the Stateside trip.Liverpool typically grant their players three weeks off after international tournaments, which raised the prospect of all six flying out for the second week of their fortnight in the USA, owing to their respective eliminations at the World Cup.But Iraola says Van Dijk will be allowed more recovery time due to the minutes he has played over the last 12 months, which totalled 5,841 prior to the World Cup, where he featured for every minute of the Netherlands' run to the last-32 stage.Iraola also says both Gakpo and goalkeeper Alisson will return to club duty at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby rather than meet up with their colleagues across the Atlantic.However, Isak, Wirtz and Gravenberch will be ready to join their team-mates during the US trip after the weekend's friendly against Sunderland at Nashville's GEODIS Park.Iraola said: “As you said, the three players that are going to join us will be with us for the second week fully."With the ones that have been left out or have been disqualified from the World Cup, they all have because of different reasons individual days for their arrivals and I think the sooner we can start working with them and they can understand what we want from them, the better."I will individually talk to the three of them. They are going to start training basically the same week as the others but instead of making them come here with the team, I considered that it was sensible for them to start training the first week in a small group or even with younger players at the AXA and join us when we return.”Iraola also offered an update on the fitness of Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic, who have all flown out as part of the 31-man squad to work on their respective rehabilitations from injuries.Iraola said: "Right now we have different situations in terms of injuries.

It's taken them months to recover."And then apart from those three, we have Stefan and Wataru that are close to getting to training with the group. They will even start on this tour - Stefan and Wataru - training not fully maybe, but partially with the group."With the others, we'll have to wait more.

But when you arrive to a new club, it's even more important because you don't have a lot of training sessions."You don't have a lot of even friendlies. So every training session, every pre-season friendly for us is massive."It's massive because sometimes we lack days of training properly, of training with all the group of players."So everything that we can get from every friendly we play, we have to use it properly because we want to arrive in a good spot on the first day of the season.