Cody Gakpo absent as 20 Liverpool outfield players train for PSG

March 4, 2025
Jack Lusby

Cody Gakpo was not part of the Liverpool squad training in front of the cameras on Tuesday ahead of the Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain.

Liverpool have three known absentees for the first leg of their last-16 clash in Paris, with Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Tyler Morton still out.

But the absence of Gakpo from an open session at the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday could spark fears over the Dutchman’s involvement.

Gakpo missed two games in February due to an ankle injury but came off the bench in the back-to-back 2-0 victories over Man City and Newcastle to close out the month.

It remains to be seen whether he has suffered a setback or a new fitness issue, but missing the small part of training permitted for filming is not confirmation he will miss out on Wednesday night.

Liverpool are set to confirm their travelling squad for PSG later on Tuesday, with every chance Gakpo is still included.

There were no other surprises as Arne Slot led his players out into the sunshine in Kirkby, with 20 outfield players put through their paces by the head coach and his staff.

That included youngsters Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha along with James McConnell, who all started in the U21s’ 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough on Sunday.

All three players could make the flight to Paris, with Ngumoha now eligible having been registered as part of the senior squad for the knockout stage.

Slot is unlikely to make many changes from the victory over Newcastle a week previous, however, with the availability of Gakpo perhaps the biggest deciding factor.

If able to start, Gakpo would likely take over from either Diogo Jota or Luis Diaz, while Andy Robertson is expected to replace Kostas Tsimikas at left-back.

The head coach will be joined by one of his player’s for a pre-match press conference at the Parc des Princes at 6.30pm UK time, when he could give an update on those out with injury.