LIVERPOOL have cause for concern as new £123million signing Bradley Barcola was subbed off with an injury in their win over Atletico Madrid.
The Reds came back to beat the Spanish giants 2-1 thanks to goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister cancelling out Marcos Llorente‘s opener.
But Barcola was withdrawn just before the hour mark after clutching his left calf.
The Frenchman was replaced by fellow summer recruit Victor Munoz, but boss Andoni Iraola has offered fans hope he won’t be out for long.
Speaking to Steven Gerrard and TNT Sports after the game, the Spaniard suggested the electrifying winger thought it might be cramp.
Laura Woods noticing Barcola mouthed “cramp” to the manager as he exited the pitch, with the former Bournemouth boss patting him on the back as was replaced.
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Iraola said: “I just asked him if it was cramp and he said yes, so that was a relief.
“It was just cramp. We have been rushing Bradley a little bit because he hadn’t played any minutes in pre-season.
“We wanted him to play but said to just give us whatever he had. We have another game in three days.”
Barcola was walking about on the pitch after the game embracing his team-mates and the opposition, seemingly OK.
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It capped a frustrating night for the French international after he went clean through on goal and failed to even hit the target.
He dragged the effort wide and many fans might feel for £123m, you have to score those chances.
It was Barcola’s first start for the club after he played the last 26 minutes of their 2-0 victory over Ipswich at the weekend.
But he is clearly still getting up to speed after not doing much of PSG’s pre-season prior to his move.
Iraola seems to be optimistic that it won’t be too bad and to see him walking around the pitch at the end suggests it should not be a bad one.