Florian Wirtz was not included in Liverpool’s matchday squad for the Premier League fixture at Anfield after he fell ill with a stomach infection, Arne Slot said.
Slot described Wirtz’s week as an attempt to recover that ultimately failed: "He tried everything to be in it. But an infection in the stomach." Slot added: "He wasn’t feeling well during the week."
Slot said Wirtz had "tried earlier in the week to train, but in the end things got worse and he wasn’t able to train with us yesterday and isn’t able to be with us today." The absence left Wirtz out of the squad for Liverpool’s meeting with Chelsea at Anfield.
The manager outlined a broader fitness picture that left several senior players missing training during the week. Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, Alisson Becker and Giorgi Mamardashvili all missed training at various points in the days before the match, Slot said. He also noted that Ibrahima Konaté and Florian Wirtz had trained during the week but not with teammates.
Slot offered specific updates on the players returning to work. On Isak he said plainly: "Alex trains with us again." He added, "Yesterday for the first time, but that’s a positive," and: "Yesterday he did parts of it, so hopefully he can do parts—or everything—today and we will then see how much we’re able to use him tomorrow."
Giorgi Mamardashvili was due to join first-team training for the first time the day before the match, Slot said: "Giorgi will train with us today for the first time so let’s see how he’s going to react, but Alisson not yet—he doesn’t train yet but is very close." He gave a similar assessment of Salah: "Mo also has not trained with us yet but is also very, very close."
Slot also addressed Konaté’s absence from full training, saying: "Ibou had a personal reason and Florian was a bit unwell but trained yesterday also." Wataru Endō, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley were listed as long-term absentees.
Liverpool were preparing to face Chelsea in a Premier League match at Anfield with two games to play in the 2025-26 season; a win on Saturday would, according to a separate report, essentially guarantee a top-five finish with two games left.
The club’s selection choices were shaped by a week in which several key figures either missed sessions or returned only in part. Slot’s account left little ambiguity about the balancing act the staff faced: players edging back to training one day before the match, others still not ready, and Wirtz slipping back after an attempted return.
By the day before the Chelsea game, Isak had rejoined training and Mamardashvili was due to do so for the first time, but Wirtz’s condition worsened and he "wasn’t able to train with us yesterday and isn’t able to be with us today," Slot said—leaving the No.7 unavailable for selection at Anfield.
