Liverpool star Florian Wirtz injured in warm-up vs. Nottingham Forest
Liverpool star Florian Wirtz injured in warm-up vs. Nottingham Forest
Seth Vertelney, USA TODAY Sun, February 22, 2026 at 5:39 PM UTC
0
Liverpool star Florian Wirtz injured in warm-up vs. Nottingham Forest
Liverpool suffered a blow before kickoff against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, Feb. 22, as playmaker Florian Wirtz was forced out with an injury in warm-ups.
The nature of the injury wasn't immediately clear, with Curtis Jones taking the German star's place in the lineup.
Wirtz was seen on the pitch at City Ground in discussions with Liverpool staff prior to kickoff before walking away down the tunnel.
After Wirtz was ruled out, longtime Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports: "It's a big blow. He's been the one knitting everything together."
Wirtz has been excellent for Liverpool in recent weeks after initially struggling following a record-breaking summer move from Bayer Leverkusen.
The 22-year-old has scored five of his six total goals since the turn of the year.
Advertisement
Liverpool still managed to secure a 1-0 win at the City Ground thanks to a late goal from Alexis Mac Allister.
After the game, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said that Wirtz's injury didn't appear to be serious.
"He wasn't able to be 100 percent or even close to 100 per cent," Slot said. "I think after being in this league for six, seven or eight months, he now understands no matter how good you are on the ball, you need to be 100 percent at this level.
"So, we decided not to play him. We hope and expect he will be able to be with us again next week but you never know how things work out."
1 / 0Best Premier League action, scenes and drama from 2025-26 season
West Ham United's Valentin Castellanos shoots against Chelsea.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florian Wirtz injury: Liverpool star ruled out vs. Nottingham Forest
Source: “AOL Sports”
