Liverpool festive images hint at deep injury concern despite Slot update | OneFootball

Liverpool’s festive preparations offered a familiar sight at the AXA Training Centre, but one small detail may end up carrying far more significance than first appeared.

The men’s squad posed for their traditional Christmas photo on Wednesday, donning Santa hats and embracing a rare light-hearted moment in a relentless schedule.

Images published via Liverpoolfc.com showed plenty of smiles, yet they also quietly underlined an emerging concern ahead of the Wolves fixture.

Of the players referenced by Arne Slot in his pre-match press conference, only Florian Wirtz was visible on the training pitches.

What Liverpool Christmas training told us about Slot’s injury update

Image via Liverpoolfc.com

The Dutchman had addressed the fitness of Alexander Isak, Wataru Endo, Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley, Cody Gakpo and our No.7 on Tuesday morning.

The head coach confirmed the striker is already ruled out after undergoing surgery, while Endo and Gomez will also miss the weekend.

Bradley and Gakpo were described as “50-50”, with a final decision pushed back to Friday.

Slot was clear on one thing, though.

Asked directly about the German playmaker, the former Feyenoord coach said: “Another example of a player who has to play a lot and is adjusting better and better and better to the Premier League.”

That assessment was backed up by what we saw in training.

Wirtz, the 22-year-old summer arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, was present, active and fully involved as Liverpool continued preparations.

The absence of the others, however, keeps us firmly in wait-and-see territory.

Why Liverpool face an unusual festive pause before Wolves

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Virgil van Dijk has already confirmed there will be no training on Christmas Day, a decision that speaks volumes about where we are physically and mentally.

The captain admitted it was something he had never experienced before in his Premier League career, describing the decision as “a nice change”.

That context makes Wednesday’s session even more important.

There will be one final opportunity on Friday to assess who returns before Saturday’s game.

Momentum remains with us after the 2-1 win away at Tottenham, where discipline issues from the hosts helped us grind out another crucial victory.

The challenge now is maintaining that run with limited time on the grass.

Much may hinge on how heavily we lean on continuing to manage Florian Wirtz carefully during the festive schedule, while others race to be fit.

Slot has bought himself breathing space.

Whether the squad can fully use it will only become clear once training resumes after Christmas.

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