Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz still sidelined with back injury

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz will miss Saturday’s game against West Ham because of a lingering back injury, and manager Arne Slot said there’s no timetable for the Germany playmaker’s return.

Wirtz had been pulled from the lineup before last week’s Premier League game at Nottingham Forest after experiencing back pain during the warm-up.

“I don’t expect Florian to be available. That’s a disappointment, of course,” Slot said Friday at a press conference. “Every time when a player is not available, it’s a disappointment, and also something that I didn’t expect after last week.”

At the time of the injury, Slot had said: “We don’t think it’s very serious.”

The Dutch manager was asked Friday if he knows how long Wirtz will be out.

“At this moment in time no, and usually when I say that I do know that, but I don’t want to share it,” Slot said. “But now, I honestly don’t know.”

Wirtz, who joined Liverpool in a big-money transfer from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, has been a mainstay in Slot’s midfield.

“It’s, in my opinion, 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 all the time tells you a lot about the mentality and the work rate of the player and by the performance staff,” Slot said.

Frimpong is back

Netherlands right-back Jeremie Frimpong has trained with the team this week, “so he is available” against West Ham, Slot said.

Frimpong, who has dealt with several injuries in his first season at Anfield, has missed the past month with a muscle injury.

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