Not injured or suspended – Why Ryan Gravenberch misses the Community Shield for Liverpool

Last season it was incredibly rare for a Liverpool team sheet not to contain the name of Ryan Gravenberch, but the Dutch midfielder won’t be involved in either of the Reds’ first two matches of the 2025/26 campaign.

The 23-year-old will be suspended for our Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Friday, having been sent off in the final match of the previous campaign at home to Crystal Palace.

He is the standout omission from the LFC line-up to take on the Eagles in the Community Shield this afternoon, but his ban doesn’t apply for that fixture, nor has he been struck down by injury just as the season is beginning.

Why is Gravenberch not involved in the Community Shield?

Liverpool fans will be delighted to know that the reason as to why Gravenberch doesn’t feature at Wembley is, in fact, a particularly joyful one.

As noted by journalist Ian Doyle on X – and also by his Liverpool Echo colleague Paul Gorst for the publication’s live matchday blog – the 23-year-old’s parner Cindy Peroti is about to give birth to the couple’s first child, with the Reds’ number 38 understandably prioritising family over football at this moment in time.

Congratulations to the Gravenberch family!

First and foremost, our heartiest congratulations to Ryan and Cindy on the impending arrival of their baby daughter, which is set to come just a few short days after fellow Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai became a first-time father.

Alexis Mac Allister is also about to become a dad for the first time with his partner Ailen Cova, with plenty to celebrate this month in the personal lives of the Reds’ squad, who continue to work through the grief of losing their friend and teammate Diogo Jota in a car crash at the start of July.

Gravenberch’s suspension and the quirks of the fixture list will give him a fortnight to enjoy becoming a father before (hopefully) returning to action against Newcastle on 25 August, a full 15 days from now.

Fingers crossed that the Bournemouth game is the only one he misses in the Premier League all season. In the meantime, and much more importantly, let’s hope all goes serenely with the birth of his baby daughter, a truly joyous occasion in anyone’s life.

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