Arne Slot confirms six Liverpool players have missed training ahead of Nottingham Forest as absences explained

Arne Slot has admitted that Liverpool were disappointed Alexander Isak did not get a chance to build more match fitness during the international break.

The striker has endured a soft launch to his Reds career after signing for a British record fee of £125 million on summer transfer deadline day. Isak arrived short of fitness, having trained alone at Newcastle United during pre-season. He then picked up a groin injury, which ruled him out of four matches before being an unused substitute in Liverpool’s 3-0 loss at Manchester City in their previous game.

Isak linked up with the Sweden squad during the international break. He came off the bench in a 4-1 loss to Switzerland but was left on the bench in a 1-1 draw with Slovenia. That was because Sweden are in the play-offs to qualify for the World Cup in March and Isak was at risk of a suspension.

It means that Isak will have to gain fitness steadily, while the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Conor Bradley - who is back on the treatment table - have had their own problems. The Liverpool boss said: “A variation of form is not only with the new signings but the players we already have. It is always in a season, they are not always in the same form. The biggest issue we have had until now and still facing is the match fitness of the players and time they missed in pre-season.

“With Alex, we were hoping he would play a little bit more for Sweden but unfortunately was one yellow away from being suspended so, for obvious reasons, they didn’t play him in the second game. It would have been better if he had a bit more minutes in the second game.”

Defensive issues

Liverpool return to action when they welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield on Saturday. But the Reds have somewhat of a defensive crisis, with Bradley, fellow right-back Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring) and Giovanni Leoni (ACL) all unavailable. Attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz is also sidelined after suffering an issue on Germany duty.

Andy Robertson was absent from training on Thursday for personal reasons, having captained Scotland to qualify for their first World Cup in 28 years earlier this week. In addition, Slot revealed that Joe Gomez also missed Thursday’s session but is expected to be involved in training on the eve of the Forest game. Liverpool head into the encounter against the backdrop of five losses in tehri past six Premier League games.

Slot added: “I just told you about Conor and Florian, Jeremie is already out, Giovanni Leonni. It this moment, we have five defenders, natural defenders, available for seven games in 22 days and I don’t see anyone coming back before that. That is something we knew; it was hard when you bring players later into the season and it’s harder to keep them fit and there’s more emphasis on the ones who have to play a little bit more in terms of what to ask from them. That was one of the reasons why I played the team against Palace in the League Cup.

“Robbo didn’t train for private reasons but will be with us today. Alisson trained last week and this week and will be able to play tomorrow if things work out. We do have some issues after the international break. Conor Bradley is not able to play and Florian Wirtz not able to play. That is far from ideal.

“Joe Gomez has played, I think if I’m correct, 90 minutes twice throughout 2025. If we want to keep him available longer, it’s maybe a bit of a risk of him playing seven times in 22 days. He missed out on a training session yesterday but we’re expecting him to train today. Challenging but the good thing is we have enough good players available and maybe one of two of them have to play in positions they maybe don’t. That’s what we have to do.”