Barcola's cramp not an injury concern as Liverpool expect winger fit for Fulham

Bradley Barcola is not carrying an injury despite being substituted during Liverpool’s 2-1 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday, with manager Andoni Iraola confirming the France international was withdrawn due to cramp rather than a muscular problem.

Barcola, signed from Paris Saint-Germain for £106 million, made his first start for the club and was on the pitch for all three goals as Liverpool came from behind to claim their opening win in the league phase. He was replaced after around 60 minutes by fellow new signing Victor Munoz as part of a double substitution.

“It is just cramp, there is no injury,” Iraola told reporters after the match. “With Bradley, it’s about building his physical condition. We don’t really know — or we didn’t know until now, probably — how much he can play because he hasn’t had any minutes in pre-season for PSG. He played 30 the other day, today we had some question marks about how many minutes he can give us, and probably now we know.”

Left-back Milos Kerkez was also substituted late in the game with cramp, and Iraola indicated both players are expected to be available for Saturday’s Premier League fixture when Fulham visit Anfield.

The update will come as a relief to Liverpool supporters, with Barcola having shown glimpses of his quality on his full debut. The 22-year-old’s involvement in the comeback against Atletico offered an early indication of what the club can expect as he builds match sharpness.

Liverpool head into the weekend unbeaten in their opening three Premier League games, though they have yet to find top gear domestically — back-to-back 2-2 draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest were followed by a win at Ipswich Town. They sit among eight sides yet to lose in the division.

Fulham, by contrast, arrive at Anfield having lost all three of their league fixtures so far, including 3-2 defeats to Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Marco Silva’s side led twice in their most recent outing against Palace before conceding the winner, and they are still searching for their first points of the campaign.