Florian Wirtz has missed the last three matches with a back injury
Florian Wirtz has missed the last three matches with a back injury
Liverpool boss Arne Slot says Florian Wirtz has a chance of featuring in Friday's fifth round return to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Reds head back to Molineux just three days after a last gasp 2-1 defeat to Premier League's bottom side, a result which has damaged hopes of a top five finish and qualification for the .
Wirtz sat out that game with the back problem he picked up in the warm-up at Nottingham Forest's City Ground last month, with the German absent for the last three matches.
Slot had indicated that , but he could now return in the FA Cup as Slot's side go all out for revenge.
Discussing the German's fitness at his press conference on Tuesday, Slot said: "He trained 'half and half' with the team yesterday. He made the next step in rehab.
"Let's see where he is today. He could be available for a few minutes tomorrow in the best scenario. Everyone else is fine."
Slot added that he is likely to make changes for the quick return to the Midlands, but with squad options limited he won't be able to make wholesale alterations.
"We have a few (options for changes) but we don't have 11," he said. "I always have options to bring in and players can bring in and let them start.
"Not for the first time this season, three days after a game where we have dropped points, I've seen us do quite a lot this season, we have to be better than we were last time."
Slot insists that his players are progressing despite the drop-off in results from last season, and pointed to Wirtz as an example before he got his injury.
"You see individual players getting better and better. Progress has had setbacks due to injuries," he said.
"One of the players who creates is Florian Wirtz. He got injured three games ago. Before that team had a certain balance and we've had to adjust again. That's happened a lot this season.
"There are periods we have conceded a lot of goals on counter-attacks and set-pieces. Against Wolves we conceded on counter-attack, but I see an improvement overall in defending them.
"Not all the games have improved in terms of creating chances. But we're not the only team that finds it hard to create from open play. It's the quality of the league that makes it more complicated."
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