Liverpool boss Arne Slot has given the latest update on Alexander Isak’s groin injury and it appears the Swedish striker is set for some time on the sidelines.
Isak started up front with Hugo Ekitike in the 5-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday but was forced off at half time due to injury.
The $167 million summer-signing from Newcastle looked sharp but didn’t score, as he’s now gone seven games without a goal for Liverpool and Sweden.
Alexander Isak injury news, latest update
Slot was asked about Isak’s fitness before the game against Brentford on Saturday and said the following in his pre-match press conference.
“Alex, not too bad. A question mark for the weekend, so let’s see where he is then,” Slot said on Friday.
Speaking about Isak’s injury after the midweek win at Frankfurt, Arne Slot discussed the balance of playing him twice in a week due to not having a preseason because of his protracted move from Newcastle.
“When he came, he hardly had trained, so you bring him step by step forward and then you feel there must be a moment where he can play twice a week – he did it with Sweden as well. But the first time we tried he had to go off and let’s hope it is not that bad,” Slot explained. “He had to come off because he felt his groin. Many people told me they wanted me to play him more and we had to find the balance and unfortunately that balance didn’t work out for us today perfectly. Let’s hope for the best.”
Slot was also asked if Isak was in the ‘red zone’ in terms of playing too many games in a short period of time.
“No. If he was in the red zone, we wouldn’t have played him,” Slot said. “You try to prepare players for once-a-week football. But if you are Liverpool then you play every three days or normally three times in eight days, because we’ve been unfortunate this season that we have to play three times in seven days. Then you try to prepare for that programme, which is not always so easy if you don’t have a pre-season. That’s what we tried to do and we thought he was well prepared for that. But the margins in the top are small. I’m hoping that this doesn’t have to be that bad because if, if, if he would be out now for a few weeks, that would put him back. So let’s wait.”
Liverpool’s manager then added this on Isak’s injury, if it was a new one, and his general fitness: “He did not come back [from the international break] with an injury. I said that he missed out [on] pre-season and didn’t train for a long time with the team. He came on the first of September, so we had to bring him towards once a week and now we try to bring him to twice a week, which he did for the national team. But he was perfectly fit when he came back from the national team and he was perfectly fit before the United game, and we were expecting him to be ready to play again today – which he did but he felt his groin, indeed, a little bit.”
Updating the situation on Friday ahead of lot would not rule out Isak playing in Week 9 against Brentford at 3pm ET Saturday. With Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo among those in fine form, there may not be a reason to play Isak if he’s at anything less than 100%.
How will Liverpool line up if Isak is missing?
It’s pretty straightforward: Hugo Ekitike will start up top in place of Isak.
Of course, Ekitike can’t play every single game but Liverpool have other options to rotate in attack with Cody Gakpo capable of playing centrally and even Mohamed Salah or Florian Wirtz could play as a false nine.
They face a tricky trip to Brentford on Saturday, then have a tough League Cup last 16 clash at home against Crystal Palace on Wednesday before another three-game week against Aston Villa, Real Madrid and then Manchester City in early November before the international break.
Slot will be hoping Isak isn’t missing for too long as it would be risky to have to keep playing Ekitike up top. This injury comes at a bad time for Isak, as he was just getting back to playing regularly after not having a preseason and even though his sharpness and clinical finishing ability had been missing, it felt like playing up top with Ekitike would be hugely beneficial for him.
Now it’s all about waiting to see how long this groin injury will keep him out for as he will have to be built back up to full fitness again. The bad news for everyone connected with Liverpool is that Isak has suffered multiple groin injuries in recent years and this is clearly an issue that will need to be managed as Slot aim to get him back to full fitness as quickly as possible.
