Darwin Nunez did not make the matchday squad against West Ham due to what Arne Slot described at the time as not feeling well, but the Liverpool boss has now revealed it wasn’t exactly the case.
Nunez was a surprise absentee when the team sheet was released ahead of last weekend’s victory over West Ham, with no known injury issue for the forward.
Typically, journalists will quickly reveal the reason for such an absence but it was not until Slot’s post-match press conference that he said “he didn’t feel well” and “couldn’t be in the team.”
The Uruguayan watched from behind the bench as rumours circulated over a row at the training ground, which Slot has now denied while simultaneously admitting he was not, in fact, ill.
Asked in a breakout section of Friday’s press conference to clarify Nunez’s omission, Slot said, via The Guardian: “He didn’t feel himself the day before the match, and he went inside and he wasn’t able to be part of the team the day after.”
Pressed on what he meant by ‘didn’t feel himself’, Slot replied: “That can mean multiple things, yes. He didn’t feel himself.”
The questioning did not stop there as the Dutchman was then asked directly if there had been an incident with a staff member, to which he said: “No, he didn’t.
“He did leave the pitch because he didn’t feel himself. As in he didn’t have words with a staff member.”
It is another convoluted situation regarding Liverpool’s No. 9, who is expected to be one of a handful of players to leave the club in the summer.
He was the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia in January and journalist Fabrizio Romano has now stated that the 25-year-old is “open to a new chapter” with “all options” to be considered.
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Nunez has scored 40 times in 138 appearances for the Reds since signing for £85.36 million in 2022 but has seen his work rate questioned this season by Slot – who has started him just 17 times.
The Uruguayan will return to the matchday squad at Leicester but his future is looking increasingly further away from Anfield.
