Liverpool has suffered a fresh blow in the chase for a spot in the UEFA Champions League next season. The Reds had a key player out injured just minutes before the Premier League game against Nottingham Forest, which they won 1-0.
Liverpool Wins Despite Losing Key Player Before Nottingham Forest Game
Arne Slot’s side took on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday, Feb. 22, knowing that a win would see them go level on points with fourth-place Chelsea. However, they suffered a key blow ahead of kickoff as Florian Wirtz picked up an injury.
The German was named in the starting XI but was replaced by Curtis Jones just minutes before the game started. Liverpool could not do much on the pitch, as they lacked a creative player in the middle and struggled.
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Slot spoke about the attacking midfielder after the game, revealing that the injury was not serious. He hopes to have him back on the pitch soon, adding that the former Bayer Leverkusen star was not 100% fit and they opted to keep him out.
The manager believes that the German will be back next week when they face West Ham United but is not completely sure. He added that the pressure and physicality of the league got to him after all these months and said:
“We don’t think it is very serious, but he felt his back too much during the warm-up to start. He wasn’t able to be 100 per cent or even close to 100 per cent. I think after being in this league for six, seven, or eight months, he now understands no matter how good you are on the ball, you need to be 100 per cent at this level. So, we decided not to play him. We hope and expect he will be able to be with us again next week, but you never know how things work out.”
Wirtz did not make the best start to his life at Liverpool, and it took him 18 matches to score his first league goal. His first assist since the start of the league came in the UEFA Champions League, when they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in October.
He has since scored once in the UEFA Champions League, while scoring four times in the Premier League this season and assisting twice so far. He also has one goal in the FA Cup but has not scored or assisted in the last three matches.
