Luis Diaz out of Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest after winger's parents kidnapped

Luis Diaz has been ruled out of Liverpool's game against Nottingham Forest after it emerged that his parents were kidnapped in Colombia.

Liverpool made seven changes from Thursday's night's 5-1 Europa League victory over Toulouse, with only Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez retaining their places.

Naturally, one player not in the Liverpool squad for Sunday's game is Diaz. On Saturday it was reported that the 26-year-olds' parents were kidnapped in Colombia after being stopped by gunmen on motorbikes.

His mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was later rescued by police in the city of Barrancas, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said.

"In a padlock operation in Barrancas, Luis Diaz's mother has been rescued, we continue the search for the father," the president tweeted.

Colombia's police director, General William Salamanca, said he is using every agent to find Diaz's father.

While rumours have emerged online that Diaz's father has also been rescued these are, at present, unconfirmed.

The 26-year-old Colombian international's parents were allegedly kidnapped while driving to their home.

Early reports suggest they were at a petrol station aboard a truck when they were approached by armed men traveling on motorbikes.

A Liverpool statement said: "It is our fervent hope that the matter is resolved safely and at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime, the player's welfare will continue to be our immediate priority."

Naturally the player will not feature in Liverpool's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest.

The Liverpool team for that game is as follows:

Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jota, Salah, Nunez.

Subs: Adrian, Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Gakpo, Elliott, Matip, Chambers, McConnell.

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.

Topics: Football, Liverpool, Luis Diaz, Premier League, Nottingham Forest

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.