Jonjo Shelvey Misses Liverpool Return After Angry Reaction

Former Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey was “ordered” to stay away from the Nottingham Forest squad when they travelled to Anfield over the weekend after objecting to his role. Neco Williams and Taiwo Awoniyi were both named in Steve Cooper’s starting XI, but Shelvey was absent from the squad entirely. According to the Telegraph‘s John Percy, Shelvey reacted “furious” to the news that he would be a substitute for the fixture and was consequently “ordered to stay home”. Shelvey played 69 games for the Reds between 2010 and 2013 and has since signed for Swansea and Newcastle before making the move to Forest in the January window. However, he has not hit the ground running at the City Ground and has made only eight appearances since his winter move. In addition, Cooper was reportedly unhappy with Shelvey’s performances in training last week and felt he had to take a stand. This leaves Shelvey with an uphill battle to win the manager over as Forest fight for their Premier League safety in the remaining six fixtures. Despite Shelvey’s absence, Williams was able to make a triumphant return to Anfield, scoring a goal that Klopp cheekily insisted was “deflected”. Williams posted on his social media that it “was nice to return back to Anfield.”