Why Florian Wirtz is missing from Liverpool squad against West Ham today | OneFootball

Reds handed major fitness blow ahead of vital Premier League fixture

Florian Wirtz is not involved for Liverpool against West Ham this afternoon after failing to recover from a back issue.

There was hope that the situation was not too serious and that the attacking midfielder would be able to return to action today against the Hammers.

However, Wirtz is not in the matchday squad for the Premier League clash at Anfield.

"No, at this moment of time, no – and usually when I say that I do know that but I don’t want to share it! But now I honestly don’t know," Slot said on Friday.

“It’s definitely a shame. He has rhythm, of course, and in my opinion it’s already a big accomplishment of him that he stayed fit for such a long time because he had to make a step from where he played towards Liverpool, towards the Premier League, and that he stayed fit tells you a lot about the mentality and work-rate of a player, and the performance staff.

“But unfortunately last week and this week he’s not available – and that is indeed a disappointment for him, but also for us because he played really, really, really well lately.”

In Wirtz’s absence, Slot has opted to move Dominik Szoboszlai into the No10 role after being deployed at right-back against Forest.

Jeremie Frimpong is back in the squad after a month out with a muscle injury, but he is named on the bench as Joe Gomez gets a start in defence alongside Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Milos Kerkez.