Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed the Premier League champions will be without Florian Wirtz and Conor Bradley for the visit of Nottingham Forest.
The duo were in action for Germany and Northern Ireland respectively over the international break, with both countries looking to seal their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Wirtz’s Germany did so, winning their group after a 6–0 hammering of Slovakia, while Bradley’s Northern Ireland secured a place in the playoffs—Italy now stand in their way before a potential clash with Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.
But those victories have come at a cost for Liverpool, who are looking to enter a period of stability after positive results against Aston Villa and Real Madrid were undone by an untimely thrashing at Manchester City before the November internationals.
“We do have some issues after the international break unfortunately,” Slot told reporters at his Friday news conference, before adding the pair both had muscular problems.
“I don’t expect Conor to be part of the upcoming 22 days,” he continued. “Maybe in the end, but not in the [next] 22 days unless something like a miracle happens, which I don’t expect. Florian should be able to play after [Forest], it depends on what happens after, but that shouldn’t be that long. Jeremie is out just as long.
“He’s not probably going to be available in the upcoming two or three weeks as well. It’s going to be interesting who all of you want to see as a right full back.”
Versatile Szoboszlai in Line to Plug Gap
Given Joe Gomez’s ongoing struggles with fitness, the conversation inevitably turned to the potential deployment of Dominik Szoboszlai at right back. The Hungarian has been hugely impressive during 2025–26, performing at a high level in various roles, and Slot admitted that the cautious approach that Liverpool have been forced to take with Gomez may force Szoboszlai back into unfamiliar territory.
“He [Szoboszlai] is doing so well in every position. That’s true,” Slot remarked. “He’s played really well as a full-back and played really well as a midfielder. Curtis Jones played there last season. Joe Gomez can play there but Joe Gomez has played, I think if I’m correct, two times 90 minutes throughout the whole 2025 year.
“So, if we want to keep him available longer it’s maybe a bit of a risk to play him seven times in 22 days. He missed out on a training session yesterday by the way as well but we are expecting him to train today. [It’s] challenging but the good thing is we have still enough good players available and maybe one of them or two of them have to play in positions they usually don’t do. That’s what we have to accept.”
With three wins and seven defeats from their last 10 games across all competitions, it’s clear Liverpool must find form quickly if they are to keep pace with leaders Arsenal in the Premier League and secure a top-eight finish in the Champions League league phase.
Forest, West Ham United, Sunderland and Leeds United represent four very winnable fixtures on paper, while Liverpool will be favourites to overcome Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven in Europe. A trip to San Siro to face Inter will, however, be a very stern test of the Reds’ progress come Dec. 9.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Liverpool Suffer Major Double Injury Blow Ahead of Nottingham Forest Visit.
