Liverpool dealt blow as Florian Wirtz ruled out of Nottingham Forest clash just minutes before kick-off

Wirtz arrived at the City Ground with his team-mates and looked set to feature against Nottingham Forest before being withdrawn at the last minute. The summer signing was spotted chatting to the coaching staff on the pitch before dropping out of the starting XI for the game. Liverpool's matchday blog posted an update that read: "Looks like a late change to the Liverpool starting line-up, with Curtis Jones coming in for Florian Wirtz.”

Liverpool: Alisson, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Jones, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Salah, Gakpo, Ekitike, Gravenberch.

Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Chiesa, Woodman, Robertson, Nyoni, Ramsay, Morrison, Ngumoha.

Wirtz had been coming into form at Anfield following his summer move. The midfielder has scored five of his six goals for the Reds since the turn of the year, and has not missed a game for the club since the reverse fixture against Forest in November. 

He had been hailed by manager Arne Slot for his contribution in early February. 

He said: "First and foremost, credit to the player because he has to do the work. Not only on the pitch but also in the gym. Then as a manager, even if he is struggling a little bit at the start, you have to keep playing him because that is the only way he can improve. He is an example of that." 

While Wirtz’s output on the scoresheet has grabbed the headlines, Slot is more impressed by the midfielder's tactical maturity. According to the Reds boss, Wirtz arrived with world-class technical ability, but the real progress has been made in his understanding of the game without the ball and his integration into the collective unit.

"I think he didn't improve that much on the ball because from the start he was special maybe now he has a better connection with his teammates because they've played more and more together," Slot explained. "Off the ball is where I see the biggest improvement with him, and some others, and that combination makes you ready for the Premier League."

Liverpool have struggled to find consistency in recent weeks, and Wirtz's injury is only likely to further unsettle a side that has found it difficult to string wins together.

They have won two of their last five, losing two and drawing one, ahead of their clash with Forest.

Former Liverpool star John Aldridge compared Wirtz to the iconic former England international Peter Beardsley after he opened his account for the club, saying: “That first goal for Florian Wirtz was going to come, wasn’t it? I’ve watched him for some time. He’s a player. He reminds me of Peter Beardsley. He’s bright, he’s smart, but he needed that goal. It was playing on his mind. It’ll be a relief to him and he can build on it now for sure.

“He’s linking up in the right areas with Hugo Ekitike. It’s good to see. There will definitely be more to come from him, from both of them. Alexander Isak will come back too. When you’re a striker, you need service and Wirtz certainly provides that.”

Liverpool face West Ham on Saturday as they bid to strengthen their Champions League qualification ambitions. 

Manager Slot has recently been forced to bite back at pundit Wayne Rooney for his claim that the Dutchman does not have the "aura" to manage the club, saying: “We are all different. The only thing we have in common, Jurgen and me, is that we both won the league – and that’s not too bad, is it? I think the more a manager wins, the more aura he has. I don’t know if you agree with Wayne Rooney, by the way, but if this would be the general opinion then I think people would probably tell you last season I had more aura than this season.

“But maybe he’s the only one who has this opinion; I don’t know, you tell me. It’s the first time that I heard this but I think it’s fair to say that Jurgen definitely has an aura. I can talk about him, not about myself, but he definitely had that. But a winning manager has an aura as well.”