Liverpool manager Arne Slott has revealed that defender Joe Gomez is not close to returning from his hamstring injury. injury.
Gomez limped out of 5-0 win over West Ham United on December 29 and was initially expected to be out for “a few weeks”, prompting questions about a possible return in Tuesday's meeting with surprise package Nottingham Forest.
Asked how far away Gomez is from a return, a disappointed Slot confirmed: “Very far. He's definitely not with the team yet and Darwin (Nunez) is suspended. They're the ones we'll miss tomorrow.”
Forest are the only team to beat Liverpool so far in Premier League this season, and Slott vowed not to take Nuno Espirito Santos' side lightly in his quest for revenge.
“They showed in retrospect how good a team they are,” Slot reflected on the loss. “In general, when Liverpool lose a home game… at that point Virgil (van Dijk) played 100 home games and lost only once.
“For me, losing that day was hard to take. Looking back and where they are in the league, it's probably not that shocking. They had a good game plan and brought in a winger who did very well. .
“I've always said that you can best judge the table halfway through the season and that moment is here now. If Forest is up there with us, me Arsenal, Chelsea(Manchester) City and everyone else, then they are definitely a team that is in competition with us and other teams.
“They deserve to be treated like that if you look at the way they play, if you look at their performances and results. It will be a very tough challenge tomorrow to get a result.”