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Arne Slot confirmed some bad news regarding injuries during his press conference ahead of this weekend's clash with Nottingham Forest, as he revealed that Conor Bradley and Florian Wirtz will be unavailable.
Bradley and Wirtz played for Nothern Ireland and Germany respectively during the international break, but have sustained muscle issues since then that rule them out.
Slot expects Bradley to be sidelined for several weeks, while Wirtz could be back after the Forest game, thankfully. Andy Robertson missed training for personal reasons earlier in the week but should be back against Forest after training on Friday.
"Robbo [Andy Robertson] didn’t train [on Thursday] for private reasons, but he will be with us today," Slot said. "Alisson [Becker] trained last week and this week so he will be able to play tomorrow if things work out well today again.
"But we do have some issues after the international break unfortunately. Conor Bradley is unable to play [and] Florian Wirtz is unable to play. That’s far from ideal.
Slot added: "I don’t expect Conor to be part of the upcoming 22 days. 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 [Frimpong] 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."
In terms of a predicted team for the game – thankfully, Alisson should return after missing Liverpool's last eight games, while Dominik Szoboszlai could fill in at right-back as he did so well earlier in the season.
Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate should line up in the center of defense, while Andy Robertson could start a fifth successive game for his club off the back of a memorable week at international level for the Reds' vice-captain.
Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister will probably be joined in the midfield three by Jones: Jones should benefit from Wirtz's injury and Szoboszlai's likely move to right-back.
Mohamed Salah will almost certainly start, while Hugo Ekitike will likely continue through the middle, as Alexander Isak continues to build up his fitness. Cody Gakpo should line up on the left.
Predicted team: Alisson; Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones, Gakpo, Salah, Ekitike
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