Luis Diaz was a notable absentee from Liverpool’s 22-man training squad on Thursday, and Arne Slot has revealed why as he spoke of his availability at Brentford.
The expectation for the trip to Brentford was that the Reds would be without only Joe Gomez due to injury, but Thursday’s session at the AXA cast doubt over two forwards.
Neither Diogo Jota nor Diaz were present, and Slot revealed on Friday that the former is in doubt with another fitness complaint after his goal at Nottingham Forest.
• READ: Jota suffers yet another injury blow – doubtful vs. Brentford
Thankfully, injury is not the issue for Liverpool’s No. 7 as he instead was forced to miss out due to a sore throat, though Slot is expecting his presence ahead of the trip to Brentford.
Explaining Diaz’s issue, Slot told reporters: “I assume he is [OK], yesterday he wasn’t allowed [at training] because he had, I think it was, a bit of a sore throat.
“But I assume he will be training with us today. But I still have to hear this, but we are expecting him to train with us today.”
With three points a must after two consecutive draws in the Premier League, Diaz’s presence is vital for Liverpool if they are to be without Jota for Saturday’s match.
The Colombian will have been forced to isolate from the squad so as not to spread any potential illness, and it will be up to the club’s doctors to determine if he is OK to report back.
Slot still has options up top with Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez all training as normal on Thursday, and thus it would not be a surprise if he were to turn to this trio at Brentford.
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