Wirtz absence hits Liverpool’s rhythm but Arne Slot plays down seriousness after City Ground scare
Who feels the impact first is the team’s attacking spine: wirtz’s late withdrawal before kick-off at the City Ground forced a reshuffle that changed how Liverpool attacked and exposed a right‑back problem that had already constrained selection. Manager Arne Slot says the issue appears not to be serious, but the abruptness of the back problem and the timing — immediately before a 1-0 victory — leaves short-term availability uncertain.
Wirtz’s withdrawal and the immediate effect on Liverpool’s match plan
Slot confirmed the No. 7 reported a back issue during the warm‑up and was replaced in the starting line-up by Curtis Jones prior to kick‑off. Slot said they do not think the injury is very serious, but Wirtz felt his back too much in the warm‑up to start and was not close to 100 percent, so the manager decided not to play him. Slot added they hope and expect he will be with the squad again next week, but you never know how things work out. Here’s the part that matters: the squad lost a player who had been finding form and who has been central to recent momentum.
Event details: who was named, who replaced him, and how the match opened
Florian Wirtz had been initially named in Liverpool’s starting XI for the Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, but withdrew in the warm‑up with the back issue. Curtis Jones was selected to take his place in Arne Slot’s 4-2-3-1 system and took the position intended for Wirtz. Within seconds of kick‑off Jones gave up possession after dallying on the ball. The match finished as a dramatic 1-0 win for Liverpool.
Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Mohamed Salah, Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo; Hugo Ekitiké.
Substitutes: Freddie Woodman (GK), Giorgi Mamardashvili (GK), Andy Robertson, Calvin Ramsay, Joe Gomez, Trey Nyoni, Federico Chiesa, Kieran Morrison, Rio Ngumoha.
Selection squeeze: right‑back dilemma and positional dominoes
Slot went into the trip already without Jeremie Frimpong for at least another week, which removed what the manager had described as the most natural replacement for Wirtz’s role. That absence pushed Dominik Szoboszlai into an unfavoured right‑back role on Sunday. Szoboszlai could feasibly have swapped positions with Jones — who had previously scored from that position against Brighton & Hove Albio — but the late change forced the manager to reshape his immediate plan.
Where this fits in Wirtz’s season and why the timing matters
It matters because Wirtz had been enjoying what coverage called his best run of form in a red shirt after an expensive summer move. Earlier in the season he had failed to score or provide a Premier League assist across his first 15 appearances; that run gave way to a stretch where he directly contributed to six goals in his last 10 top‑flight outings. In a longer span tied to a team revival, Wirtz has six goals and five assists in a period the coverage describes as a run of matches in which Liverpool lost just twice in 19 games in all competitions, compared with no goals and three assists in the 16 games beforehand.
Hugo Ekitike is cited as the clearest beneficiary of Wirtz’s creativity, the pair having combined for seven goals, and there is mention of an improved partnership with Mohamed Salah. Wirtz, described as a 22‑year‑old Germany international and a costly summer recruit who moved from Bayer Leverkusen for £116million, had reportedly started every Premier League game since the Forest defeat earlier in the season and lasted the duration in five of the last six before this withdrawal.
Micro timeline and the next signal to watch
- November: Forest returned to Anfield; Wirtz missed two matches through injury (these matches included a 3-0 reverse and a 4-1 Champions League loss), and pressure on Slot increased during that week.
- After that period: Liverpool then recorded just two losses in 19 games in all competitions while Wirtz became central to the team’s improved output.
- Sunday at the City Ground: Wirtz was named in the starting XI but withdrew in the warm‑up with a back issue; Jones replaced him and Liverpool won 1-0.
- Next signal: Slot’s expectation that Wirtz will be with the squad next week is the immediate confirmation point, but availability remains unclear in the provided context.
It’s easy to overlook, but the timing — a warm‑up back problem before a crucial away match — combines squad fitness, an already constrained right‑back choice, and hard‑to‑replicate attacking connections that have contributed directly to goals. The real question now is whether Slot’s hope that Wirtz will rejoin the squad next week is borne out in training and selection for the coming fixtures.
