Liverpool's next transfer priority becomes clear as Arne Slot confirms Joe Gomez injury blow

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has delivered the latest on Joe Gomez after the Reds defender flew home from their pre-season tour with an Achilles injury.

The Englishman was a notable absentee from the Liverpool squad to face AC Milan in Saturday's pre-season friendly, and reports subsequently emerged claiming that he had hurt his Achilles.

Gomez's latest issue was confirmed by Slot, who told the official Liverpool website that the decision was taken to send the versatile defender home from Hong Kong for further assessment.

The severity of Gomez's condition is unclear, but Slot affirmed that he is expecting the 28-year-old to be fit and ready "soon", potentially suggesting that he will be fit for the start of the new season.

"He was, of course, with us for the first part of the week, but he had some Achilles problems," the Liverpool boss said. "We decided to let him go back to England. But we hope and expect to have him back soon.

Slot provides Gomez injury latest before Liverpool-Milan

"We thought it was better to assess it back in England and for him to work on him to come back to the team, probably in more ideal circumstances for him than be part of the group that every time goes out."

Gomez's Achilles issue means that the defender will also sit out the clash with Yokohama F. Marinos on Wednesday, and it remains to be seen if he will be ready to face Athletic Bilbao on August 4.

The 28-year-old has been bedevilled by injuries throughout his Reds career, and he was restricted to just 17 appearances during the 2024-25 campaign, including nine in the Premier League.

According to data from Transfermarkt, Gomez has missed an astronomical 275 matches for club and country through injury during his career, whereas he has played 241 games for the reigning Premier League champions.

Gomez is yet to score his first senior career goal for the Reds, but he has laid on 10 assists and won nine major trophies since joining from Charlton Athletic in 2015.

Do Liverpool need a new centre-back after Gomez injury blow?

While there is currently nothing to suggest that Gomez will be missing for a lengthy period of time, it is sadly unrealistic to expect the 28-year-old to stay fit for an entire campaign, such has been the story of his career.

Gomez is also in the last two years of his contract at Anfield, while Ibrahima Konate - another defender whose fitness record leaves something to be desired - can walk away for nothing in 2026 amid interest from Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Jarell Quansah has already departed for Bayer Leverkusen, and the Reds cannot repeat their 2020-21 trick with Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams, as the former is now representing West Bromwich Albion while Williams's career has stalled.

Slot does have the option of using Wataru Endo in central defence, but that selection should only be reserved for emergencies, and a new centre-back must now be of paramount importance.

Liverpool may be putting all their eggs in the Alexander Isak basket right now, but if the holders have funds left over after a possible record-breaking deal for the Newcastle United man, they could do worse than make a serious play for Marc Guehi.