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Arne Slot offers Florian Wirtz injury update as he addresses Liverpool’s attacking struggles
Liverpool manager Arne Slot claimed that Florian Wirtz “could be available for a few minutes” during the FA Cup tie against Wolves on Friday, while suggesting that the Germany international is key to the team’s overall “balance”.
Wirtz has been out of the squad since picking up an injury in the warm-up ahead of the win over Nottingham Forest on 22 February, and the 22-year-old has missed three games in that time, including the 2-1 loss to Wolves in the league earlier this week.
However, he could feature against Wolves in the FA Cup fifth-round tie this week, in what would be a welcome boost to Liverpool’s attacking options.
“He trained half and half with the team yesterday. He made the next step in rehab. Let's see where he is today. He could be available for a few minutes tomorrow in the best scenario,” explained Slot, before adding that “everyone else [is] fine”.
The absence of Wirtz has coincided with Liverpool struggling in attack at times, and while the Reds did beat West Ham 5-2 over that spell, there are still questions over the attacking output and chance creation, with Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah coming under criticism for not offering enough from the wings.
And while Slot highlighted that “attacking isn't just down to Cody [Gakpo] and Mo [Salah],” the Dutchman did seem to admit that Wirtz is a key cog in his side’s attack.
“One of the players who creates is Florian Wirtz. He got injured three games ago. Before that the team had a certain balance and we've had to adjust again. That's happened a lot this season,” explained the Liverpool boss.
“Not all the games have improved in terms of creating chances. But we're not the only team that finds it hard to create from open play. It's the qualify of the league that makes it more complicated.
“We are not in terms of chance creation last in the league. We're not doing that bad. We're also the team with most ball possession so you'd expect us to create more.
“Cody and Mo we expect and they expect from themselves to score more. But attacking isn't just down to Cody and Mo,” he added.
Liverpool will book a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a win at Molineux, in what is the first of an important string of games that includes a Champions League last-16 tie against Galatasaray and a Premier League match against Tottenham at Anfield on 15 March.
Emma Raducanu hopes to rediscover ‘natural’ style that has been ‘coached out of me’
British No 1 being aided by Mark Petchey at Indian Wells
‘I am definitely going to tap into a few people’
Emma Raducanu says she is determined to wrest back control of her “natural” tennis style, with the British No 1 eager not to be bound by the diktats of a single coach or a style that does not feel right.
“I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that’s something that has been coached out of me a little bit,” Raducanu told BBC Sport. “I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn’t necessarily fit. I don’t necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised – even if it’s a trial.
Continue reading...Jürgen Klinsmann hails Harry Kane as "fantastic" and "the best ambassador you could wish for"
With a remarkable 130 goals in 133 games in all competitions, Harry Kane has been a big hit at Bayern Munich since making the move to Germany from Tottenham for a reported €95 million fee in the summer of 2023.
German World Cup winner and former Bayern player and coach Jürgen Klinsmann has followed the 32-year-old England captain’s Bundesliga achievements with admiration and sees him as an ideal ambassador for the league.
“What Harry has done since joining Bayern Munich is simply incredible," Klinsmann told Bulinews.com and other selected media at a virtual roundtable on Wednesday.
“It’s unbelievable. He's not only a fantastic player on the pitch, with all the goals, assists and records, but also an ambassador of the game.”
Klinsmann believes Kane is respected and admired across Germany, and not just by his own club's supporters.
“People in Germany love him – and not just Bayern Munich fans. Everybody adores him for his qualities. He’s the best ambassador you could ask for, coming from England and playing in the Bundesliga," Klinsmann added, before making a World Cup prediction:
“I was asked today who I think will be the top goalscorer at the World Cup, and I said Harry right away.”
Having scored 30 goals in 24 Bundesliga matches so far in the 2025/26 season, Kane is chasing Robert Lewandowski’s record of 41 goals in a single Bundesliga campaign.
During the interview on Wednesday, Klinsmann expressed confidence in Kane’s chances of breaking the record.
However, the England captain now has one game less to add to his tally, as it was confirmed Thursday morning that he will miss Bayern Munich's Friday clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach due to a calf injury.