Arne Slot confirms Wirtz blow as Liverpool learn West Ham availability

Arne Slot has confirmed Florian Wirtz will miss the Premier League meeting with West Ham United, while also admitting the club currently has no clear timeline for his return.

The Germany international was originally expected to only suffer a short interruption after withdrawing during the warm-up before our 1-0 win away to Nottingham Forest.

Instead, the situation has developed into a genuine concern for us heading into an important run of fixtures.

Slot confirms Wirtz absence and uncertain return

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Slot explained: “Don’t expect Florian to be available.”

The Dutchman admitted the development came as a surprise after early optimism following the City Ground incident.

“Every time when a player is not available it’s a disappointment and also something that I didn’t expect after last week.”

More worrying, however, was his response when asked about a recovery timeframe: “At this moment of time… I honestly don’t know.”

Slot also emphasised how well the playmaker had been performing prior to the injury: “He played really, really, really, really well lately.”

That matters because creativity was clearly an issue during large spells against Nottingham Forest despite Alexis Mac Allister’s late winner, with Liverpool managing very little attacking control in the first half after the late reshuffle and Wirtz watched on in discomfort.

Why Wirtz is such a big miss for Liverpool

Wirtz has quietly become one of our most influential attacking players this season.

According to Sofascore data, the attacking midfielder has made 25 Premier League appearances, starting 21, scoring four goals and providing two assists while also creating four big chances and averaging 1.8 key passes per game.

He also averages 59.2 touches per match, which illustrates how much of our build-up flows through him in advanced midfield areas.

After Wirtz was forced out at Forest, Curtis Jones stepped in and Dominik Szoboszlai temporarily filled unusual roles during the reshuffle, and our lack of attacking structure early in that match demonstrated just how central the German has become.

Slot had sounded confident immediately after the Forest game when he said the issue “wasn’t very serious”, but a week later the reality is different, and now we head into the West Ham match without our primary creative outlet and without clarity on when he returns.

With Liverpool currently sixth in the table on 45 points, level with Chelsea and just outside the Champions League positions, that uncertainty could significantly shape the coming weeks and force tactical changes in both midfield structure and attacking balance.

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