Florian Wirtz of Liverpool looks on during the warm up prior to the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at City Ground on February 22, 2026 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)placeholder image
Florian Wirtz of Liverpool looks on during the warm up prior to the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at City Ground on February 22, 2026 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Florian Wirtz injury update after Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Arne Slot has explained why Florian Wirtz was absent for Liverpool’s victory over Nottingham Forest.
The attacking midfielder was named in the Reds’ starting line-up for the Premier League clash at the City Ground. However, after taking part in the warm-up, he was omitted from Liverpool’s squad, with Curtis Jones taking Wirtz’s berth in the team.
The Reds delivered a 1-0 smash-and-grab win, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring a 97th-minute goal - eight minutes after he’d had another effort chalked off by VAR for handball.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Liverpool boss Slot said on Wirtz: “We don’t think it is very serious. He felt his back too much during the warm-up to start. He wasn’t able to be 100 per cent or close to 100 per cent.
“I think after being in this league for six, seven or eight months that 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 but hope and expect him to be with us next week.”
On the performance overall, Slot said to Sky Sports: "If you score in the last minute, there's always an element of luck but so many times this season, we've experienced the opposite. A draw would have been a fairer result than a win for us.
"If we rely on one player, then things are not good but that is not the case. Someone else has to do the job. The first half was difficult because Forest played well and they have good players.
"I wanted more control over their midfield. I highlighted how well they played but we lost every ball. The only part of the game was defending inside the box. We had to defend a lot of set pieces. We stayed in the game.
"We took over the game in the second half, maybe because they played on Thursday. We scored twice and I would not have been shocked if both goals were ruled out but maybe our luck is turning.”
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