Liverpool star Florian Wirtz is set to miss the Champions League showdown against PSV Eindhoven after being absent from Tuesday's training session. The attacking midfielder, who was also sidelined for Saturday's 3-0 Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest due to a muscle injury sustained on international duty with Germany, was among several players not present at the AXA Training Centre ahead of Wednesday's clash with the Eredivisie leaders.
Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong were also absent as they continue their recovery from muscle and hamstring injuries respectively, picked up during World Cup qualifiers. Neither player is expected to return for at least another two weeks. Teenage centre-back Giovanni Leoni will be out for the rest of the season following ACL surgery. However, head coach Arne Slot has no new injury worries, with the rest of the squad participating in the training session in chilly Kirkby.
Calvin Ramsay, ineligible for the opening stage of the Champions League, took part in the session, along with young talents Rio Ngumohaa, Trey Nyoni and Kaide Gordon. James Norris, the 22-year-old left-back who has spent much of the year on loan at League of Ireland side Shelbourne, was also involved.
He is currently serving a European suspension but remains eligible to feature for Shelbourne in the Conference League.
Liverpool have secured nine points from four matches at the halfway stage of the Champions League, while PSV have only managed to gather five points after a single victory so far, albeit a resounding 6-2 win against Italian champions Napoli at home.
Slot previously said that he did not expect Wirtz to miss many games, but he stands to be absent from the European clash.
"Florian Wirtz is unable to play," Slot admitted before Liverpool's defeat to Nottingham Forest. "That’s far from ideal.
"A variation of form is not only with new signings.
"That’s also with the new players we have. That’s always in a season that it’s not always the same, you’re not always in the same form.
"The biggest issue we’ve faced until now, and still facing, is the match fitness of the players and the time they’ve missed in pre-season. Alex [Isak], now we were hoping him to play a little bit more for the Swedish national team.
"Unfortunately, he was one yellow away from being suspended, so for obvious reasons, they didn’t play him the second time. But for us it would’ve been better if he had some minutes in the second game.
"I just told you about Conor and Florian.
"Jeremie is out and Giovanni [Leoni] so we have at this moment in time five natural defenders – five players who have always played as a defender – available for seven games in 22 days, and I don’t see anyone coming back before that."