Federico Chiesa injury update after Liverpool forward missed Marseille game

Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa missed the Champions League win over Marseille with an injury that Arne Slot explained during his post-match press conference in France

Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Federico Chiesa missed Liverpool's Champions League win over Marseille with a minor injury, and it is unclear at this stage whether he will be available for the trip to Bournemouth on Saturday.

The Italian winger was initially named on the bench for Liverpool ahead of the clash at the Orange Velodrome. However, it became clear that he had an issue during the warm-up which led to him being removed from the matchday squad.

"Two or three minutes after you guys left yesterday, he stepped out of the training session," Arne Slot said during his post-match press conference. "We took him with us because we don't expect it to be a long-term injury.

"Because we stay here tonight, we are here a bit longer. We thought it was good for him to have his treatment over here.

"We were hoping that maybe he would have been fit in time but he wasn't. He tried in the warm-up and he wasn't able to play. That's why he wasn't on the bench."

Liverpool is currently without Alexander Isak, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni because of long-term injuries. However, Mohamed Salah returned from action after AFCON during the win in the south of France.

MARSEILLE, FRANCE - JANUARY 21: Liverpool head coach Arne Slot of Liverpool celebrates the team's victory after the UEFA Champions League week 7 football match between Olympique Marseille and Liverpool at Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France, on January 21, 2026. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)(Image: Getty Images)

"It helps he is already for so long with us so he knows his teammates and he knows how we want to play," Slot said when he was asked about Salah.

"It says a lot about how big of a professional he is that being away from us for a month in a different team, he was so fit to play 90 today. He was close to a goal, a good ball from Cody [Gakpo] and usually that's a goal for him.

"Tonight it wasn't but it didn't harm us because we scored three. I think overall, I saw a lot of very good individual performances, as I saw against Arsenal, as I saw against Burnley and as I saw tonight.

"The one I want to take out [and highlight] is Joe Gomez because he hasn't played a lot in the last one-and-a-half years. He suffered sometimes from injuries, sometimes I didn't play him when he was fit.

"A few times when he played were moments in [the] League Cup and FA Cup. Tonight he had an outstanding performance with an important role in our 3-0."

After taking on Bournemouth at the weekend, Liverpool concludes its Champions League group phase campaign by hosting Qarabag at Anfield. A positive result there will confirm its place in the top eight spots and thus avoid the play-off round.

"That has been crucial from the start," Slot said. "We have to play a lot of times with the same players because we have three long-term injuries. From the start of the season, we haven't had as big a squad as some of our competitors have."