Arne Slot has revealed that Alexander Isak was taken off at half-time of Liverpool’s 5-1 win in the Champions League on Wednesday due to injury.
The Reds ran rampant against hosts Eintracht Frankfurt after falling a goal behind in Germany, as five different scorers struck to ensure the Merseyside club’s recent losing streak came to an end.
Eyebrows were raised ahead of the match when Mohamed Salah was named on the bench for the second consecutive game in this competition, one of five changes that saw Isak fielded in the same starting XI as Ekitike.
And while the former had a decent early chance to open the scoring, it was instead the latter who stepped up to provide the equaliser after Liverpool went 1-0 down.
Isak was largely quiet for the rest of the half as centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate gave the Reds the lead and extended it following corners and at half-time the Swedish striker was withdrawn, with Federico Chiesa sent on in his place.
Speaking after the match, Slot said: "Alex (Isak) had to go off at half-time because he felt his groin a bit.
“Unfortunately he had to go off, so let's hope for the best. It's not easy when a player is out for so long."
The Liverpool manager was referring to Isak’s disrupted pre-season, with the Swede having been forced to get up to speed mid-season following his protracted move from Newcastle this summer.
And, worryingly, groin injuries are something the 26-year-old is all too familiar with, having suffered a similar issue repeatedly during his last few seasons with the Magpies.
Isak may now face a race against time to be fit for Saturday night’s trip to Brentford.
Thankfully for Slot, another goal and solid performance by fellow striker Hugo Ekitike gives Liverpool a ready-made replacement up front in the event that Isak misses out.
