Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed that Florian Wirtz is back in training and could be involved in Friday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Wolves. The 22-year-old German midfielder sustained an injury during the warm-up before the Reds' 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest two weeks ago.
Wirtz has missed Liverpool's last two matches, and his absence was felt as Slot's side slumped to a 2-1 Premier League defeat at Wolves on Tuesday. The two sides meet again at Molineux in the FA Cup, with the £116million signing now closing in on a return.
Speaking at Thursday's pre-match press conference, Slot said: 'He trained half-and-half with the team yesterday and made the next step in his rehab. Let's see where he is today. He could be available for a few minutes tomorrow in the best-case scenario.' The Dutchman also reported a clean bill of health from the midweek loss, although Alexander Isak, Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo, Giovanni Leoni and Stefan Bajcetic remain sidelined.
Slot defended Liverpool's recruitment strategy amid a spate of injuries, stating: 'I'm happy with what we did last summer, we signed so many great players but you can't predict so many would be injured. It's the model we are having that we aren't having 25 players over here. It hurts even more if you have three or four long-term injuries. I knew when I came in this was the model and I'm happy with that.'
The Reds boss demanded a response from his players after their disappointing defeat and hinted at changes for the FA Cup tie. 'Not for the first time this season, three days after a game where we have dropped points, I've seen us do quite a lot this season, we have to be better than we were last time,' he added.
