Liverpool injury news: New Reds signing suffers major World Cup fitness blow

Liverpool attacker Victor Munoz has suffered a worrying injury setback whilst at the World Cup with Spain.

La Roja - one of the pre-tournament favourites for success across the United States, Canada and Mexico - dropped points at the hands of Cape Verde during the first round of group-stage fixtures at the competition.

With Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal both not fit enough to start, Luis de la Fuente's side struggled to break down a stubborn Cape Verde defence, who were playing their first-ever World Cup fixture.

Focusing on the club scene for a moment, Munoz completed a £34m move from La Liga side Osasuna to Anfield on Thursday (June 18), signing a bumper five-year deal with the Premier League giants.

After progressing through the youth ranks at Real Madrid, the attacker enjoyed a breakthrough senior campaign at Osasuna in 2025-26, scoring six goals and providing two assists across 34 top-flight appearances.

Liverpool attacker Munoz suffers injury setback

Making his Spain senior debut earlier this year, Munoz is at the beginning of his international career and has struggled with a muscular injury in the build-up to the World Cup, limiting his training and match minutes.

After being an unused substitute for the stalemate with Cape Verde last time out, the 22-year-old has suffered another fitness setback, as confirmed by a statement from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) medical team.

Addressing Munoz's injury, RFEF said: "During the planned and individualized recovery process, an additional muscle injury has occurred that will delay his return to competition. His availability for the upcoming matches will depend on the evolution of his symptoms."

According to Spanish outlet Cadena SER, the Liverpool forward is fully expected to miss the remaining group stage matches of Spain against Saudi Arabia on Sunday and Uruguay on June 27.

The report also claims that Munoz's involvement in the knockout stages is in serious doubt after the attacker aggravated his muscular problem, meaning that he could be sent home from the tournament.

Munoz's mixed summer

Finding the net during his Spain debut in a friendly against Serbia in March, Munoz enjoyed the dream start to his international career, however, the attacker's fortunes have taken a turn for the worse since then.

The 22-year-old failed to feature in any of La Roja's summer warm-up matches for the World Cup because of a muscular injury, with the youngster now sidelined for the rest of his nation's group-stage campaign.

Munoz was snapped up by Liverpool following strong interest from Manchester United and Newcastle United this year, adding to a mixed summer in which the player's World Cup dreams are fading.