Arne Slot warned that the fitness of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Joe Gomez will have to be closely monitored, revealing that none of them are capable of playing 90 minutes three times in the same week.
Gomez lasted the full match against West Ham United on Sunday in what was his first Premier League start for 336 days. Isak was removed after 68 minutes while Wirtz played 75—which Slot revealed was longer than the medical staff had advised.
Liverpool host Sunderland on Wednesday before travelling to Leeds and then Milan for two games in the space of four days. The Reds then host Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, Dec. 13 before the relative respite of a week-long break.
Slot was decidedly non-committal on the status of the aforementioned trio ahead of this week’s Premier League bout. “Let’s see how players feel after training today,” the Dutch boss warned. “Wirtz has missed almost two weeks of training so for him to play minutes is a good thing but let’s see. Joe Gomez also.
“It was encouraging to see Wirtz play so well. It was maybe the first time for other people but I’ve seen him play very well for us already. It was great for Alex [Isak] to score his first goal but he couldn’t play anymore minutes as he was telling me he was feeling a bit of cramp. So it’s another player to see how he does when he trains today.
“They can’t play three full 90 minutes in a week but all three can be involved if they don’t get an injury.”
Slot’s medical update gave himself enough leeway to ensure scope for further rotation this week. After coming under the spotlight for the omission of Mohamed Salah over the weekend, the under-pressure tactician could bring the Egyptian back into the fold to avoid overloading Wirtz or Isak, who have both experienced fitness issues after their eye-watering summer moves.
Stat for 2025–26
Florian Wirtz
Alexander Isak
Number of Injuries
1
2
Days Missed Through Injury
8
31
Games Missed Through Injury
2
7
