Arne Slot has eased worries regarding a lengthy injury absence for Florian Wirtz, having missed the 1-0 victory away to Nottingham Forest.
The German suffered a back injury in the warm-up at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon, being ruled out of the starting lineup at the eleventh hour.
Wirtz was a big loss, with Liverpool toiling until Alexis Mac Allister popped up with a last-gasp winner, in what was a vital Premier League win.
Speaking to reporters after the game [via This Is Anfield], Slot provided a positive update on the 22-year-old, suggesting his should be back for Saturday’s visit of West Ham.
“We don’t think it’s very serious, but he felt his back too much during the warm-up to start,” Slot said.
“He wasn’t able to be 100 percent or even close to 100 percent. I think after being in this league for six, seven or eight months he understands that no matter how good you are on the ball, you need to be 100 percent at this level, so we decided not to play him.
“But we hope and expect that he will be able to be with us again next week. But yeah, you never know how things work out.”
Influence of Florian Wirtz at Liverpool is already clear
As mentioned, Liverpool were lifeless for much of the Forest game, with the Premier League champions sorely missing Wirtz’s creativity in the final third.
After a slow first few months at Anfield, his influence has grown enormously, so having him back for the West Ham game will be a massive plus.
The goals and assists have started to flow more regularly for Wirtz, who has 10 to his name combined this season, and those numbers should only become more impressive over time.
He is a world-class footballer who can become the new star of this Liverpool team once current legends Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson are gone, along with the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak.
If the Reds are to have any chance of winning the Champions League this season, they will need Wirtz to be at his very best, and he is a joy to watch when in full flow.