Florian Wirtz was injured in the warm-up as Liverpool took on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, with Curtis Jones coming into the starting XI to replace him
16:35, 22 Feb 2026Updated 16:40, 22 Feb 2026
Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.
Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says Florian Wirtz picked up a minor back injury in the warm-up, which is why he was withdrawn from the starting XI just before kick-off against Nottingham Forest.
The German is not expected to be out for long, however, and should be back next week to face West Ham United. Curtis Jones replaced Wirtz in the team and struggled, especially in the first half, before he switched to right-back.
Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai moved forward and while Liverpool was very much under the cosh and fortunate not to be behind at half-time, it did eventually win the game through Alexis Mac Allister.
READ MORE: Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Nottingham Forest as Mac Allister nets late winnerREAD MORE: Mac Allister nets dramatic winner, Salah struggles - 5 Liverpool talking points vs Nottingham Forest
With Chelsea having dropped points against Burnley on Saturday, Liverpool had a chance to make up some ground in the race for the Champions League places.
However, the Reds really lacked creativity in the final third, where Wirtz was missed. The German was spotted grimacing in the stands in the East Midlands as he watched on.
Wirtz has been in good form lately, scoring and assisting regularly over the last six weeks or so. But without him in the team, Hugo Ekitike was essentially unable to get a kick.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot
Liverpool manager Arne Slot(Image: Getty Images)
Slot was asked by Sky Sports post-match about his side missing Wirtz. "I hope it's more than that because if we rely on one player then things are not good," he said.
"And that's also not the situation. We've missed players throughout the whole season. It was another miss for us.
"He's in really good form but someone else has to do the job, and Forest have good players. I said before the game that I was surprised about their league position."
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Mac Allister was the match-winner in the end, shortly after seeing a goal ruled out for handball offense.
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"We need to analyse what we did well and what went wrong," he said. "The intensity wasn't there but we did what we did to win.
"Florian is a really good player and really important for us. It was a different shape and a different way to play. It didn't work but we will keep working and next game we can do better.
"We need points to qualify for the Champions League. Now it's time to rest and think about the next one."