4 things spotted in Liverpool training with Mohamed Salah reaction as Florian Wirtz fears grow

Liverpool's players continued their preparations ahead of facing West Ham at the weekend, although Florian Wirtz's absence from training has raised fears over his fitness

Liverpool in training ahead of the Premier League clash with West Ham(Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool’s players have been able to enjoy some rare time off this week, but it was back down to work on Thursday as they prepared for this weekend’s Premier League clash with West Ham.

Arne Slot and his coaching staff put their squad through their paces at the AXA Training Centre, with cameras in position to capture the session, and offer a glimpse into how the Reds are shaping up ahead of Saturday’s game.

The good news is there was one injury boost to emerge from the session in Kirkby. The bad news, concerns have been raised for Liverpool’s latest injury worry.

Here’s what we spotted from Liverpool’s latest training session ahead of facing West Ham…

Wirtz doubts grow

Florian Wirtz was a very notable absentee from training on Thursday, raising doubts over whether he will be able to return against West Ham.

The 22-year-old had to pull out of Liverpool's team against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, having picked up a back injury during the warm-up, but Slot played down concerns and suggested it was just a minor issue.

Having not joined in with his teammates on Thursday though, it's looking highly doubtful he will be back to face the Hammers, with Slot set to give an update in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

Frimpong's back

Liverpool did get an injury boost on Thursday in the shape of Jeremie Frimpong though. The winger was back on the training pitch with his teammates, having also been seen running to the gym - a good sign after the thigh injury he picked up last month.

Jeremie Frimpong looks to be on course to return against West Ham(Image: Getty Images)

Slot will hopefully give an update on him as well on Friday, but it looks as though he is on course to return against West Ham - it might just be a question of how minutes he will be given after being out for around a month.

Frimpong's return will be welcomed, with Liverpool getting back one of its first-choice right-backs. That may free Dominik Szoboszlai up to move back into midfield as well, which will be a big boost.

Rio out to impress

With calls growing for Rio Ngumoha to be given more opportunities by Slot, the teenager will have been out to impress on Thursday.

Although Slot has exercised caution with the 17-year-old, and rightfully so given Liverpool has seen first-hand the problems that can arise with throwing a young player in early, it does feel as though the prospect of Ngumoha being handed a first Premier League start might be approaching.

Rio Ngumoha will be hoping to earn a first Premier League start(Image: Getty Images)

Having impressed once again off the bench at Nottingham Forest, he was in the thick of the action with his teammates during a cold and wet training session. With Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah struggling for form, and few options in attack at the moment, will Ngumoha have done enough to convince Slot that he deserves a start on Saturday?

Well, he was on the winning team during a match practice situation, so that's a good start.

Salah all smiles

It certainly hasn't been your usual Mohamed Salah season - not by his high standards anyway - and fans may well have been a little more worried by what they saw from him against Forest.

Having produced another poor performance, Salah looked bemused as Slot took the decision to replace him 13 minutes from time. We all know what happened the last time the Egyptian wasn't happy with his head coach's decisions.

Mohamed Salah was all smiles during Liverpool training(Image: Getty Images)

There didn't seem to be any sign of him holding any hard feelings during training on Thursday though, with Salah seen smiling broadly as he made his way out onto the training pitch.

With the likes of Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa pushing for a starting berth though, the 33-year-old is going to have to produce soon, and ending his goal drought in the Premier League this weekend would be the perfect place to start.