Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has confirmed that winger Bradley Barcola is not injured and remains available for Saturday's Premier League fixture at Anfield against Fulham, after the France international was forced off during Wednesday's Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid.

Barcola started for the first time in a Liverpool shirt in that contest, featuring for the full duration of all three goals as the Reds came from behind to seal a 2-1 win in their opening league phase match. He was substituted after an hour, replaced by fellow new arrival Victor Munoz as part of a double change, prompting concerns over his fitness.

Just cramp, says Iraola

Iraola moved quickly to calm those concerns in his post-match press conference, stating that Barcola had suffered nothing more than cramp.

"It is just cramp, there is no injury," confirmed the Liverpool boss. "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."

Iraola also shed light on the thinking behind Barcola's substitution, explaining that Wednesday's outing offered the club vital information about the winger's current match sharpness following a pre-season in which he featured not at all for Paris Saint-Germain.

"He played 30 the other day [and] today we had some question marks, how many minutes he can give us and probably now we know," Iraola added.

Left-back Milos Kerkez was also taken off late in the Champions League opener, with Iraola revealing that he too had been dealing with cramp. Both players are expected to be available for selection against Fulham on Saturday afternoon.

Liverpool's unbeaten run continues

Liverpool head into the weekend as one of eight Premier League sides without a defeat after three rounds of fixtures. The Reds drew 2-2 against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest in their opening two matches before beating Ipswich Town at Portman Road in their most recent league outing.

Fulham arrive at Anfield having lost all three of their Premier League games so far this season, including 3-2 defeats to Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Former Liverpool player Alvaro Arbeloa's side led twice in their last fixture against Crystal Palace but were unable to hold on, leaving them still searching for a first point of the campaign.