Liverpool confirm 31-man squad for United States tour as six surprise selections explained

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Liverpool have jetted out to Chicago ahead of their three-game pre-season tour of the United StatesLiverpool have confirmed a 31-man squad for the start of their tour to the United States - which will include a group of injured players.The Reds jetted out for their base in Chicago on Monday afternoon to begin preparation for friendly games against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United.Liverpool have included centre-back Giovanni Leoni, forward Hugo Ekitike and right-back Conor Bradley in the party despite all three still recovering from long-term injuries.They will continue their rehabilitation in the States along with midfielders Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic and goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros, with new head coach Andoni Iraola keen on using the trip to build team bonding.Jaros is likely to be sidelined until Christmas as he continues to recover from the knee ligament damage that cut short last season's loan spell at Ajax in February.New centre-back signing Jeremy Jacquet is however available having been out since undergoing shoulder surgery shortly after Liverpool agreed a £60million deal with Rennes in January.While the Reds are without their eight-strong World Cup contingent for the start of the tour, Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch are expected to link up with the squad ahead of the second game against Wrexham while Alisson Becker could return for the final match.Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo are both in line for extended breaks while finalists Alexis Mac Allister and £34.5m winger Victor Munoz won't report back to the AXA Training Centre until well into next month.The absences mean Liverpool have bolstered their numbers on tour with a raft of Academy players, the most prominent of which is highly-rated 16-year-old Josh Abe, who committed his immediate future to the Reds earlier this summer amid strong interest from Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City.Ifeanyi Ndukwe, the 18-year-old centre-back who arrived from Austria Vienna this summer, is also part of the touring squad, although Jayden Danns has not been included after suffering a setback in his recovery from a long-term hamstring issue.Another 18-year-old, Will Wright, is also included and could be given extended minutes due to a lack of available senior attacking options beyond Federico Chiesa, with Academy forward Josh Sonni-Lambie also travelling.LIVERPOOL SQUAD: Gomez, Endo, Jacquet, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Bradley, Chiesa, Leoni, Jones, Elliott, Tsimikas, Ekitike, Mamardashvili, Woodman, Frimpong, Abe, Nyoni, Bajcetic, Chambers, Ramsay, Scanlon, McConnell, Jaros, Koumas, Morrison, Ngumoha, Wright, Hall, Sonni-Lambie, Ndukwe, Davies.