A moment of celebration quickly turned to agony for Alexander Isak at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Having arrived from the bench at half time, Isak fired in Liverpool’s opening goal during their 2–1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, but instead of wheeling away in front of the travelling fans, the Premier League record signing writhed in agony on the turf.
Isak’s leg was trapped under Micky van de Ven following the Dutchman’s last-ditch attempts to block the shot and it was immediately clear that the Liverpool forward was in serious discomfort. With the help of medical staff, he trudged off the pitch, grimacing all the way.
Unfortunately for Isak and Liverpool, the 26-year-old has suffered a fractured fibula and damage to his ankle and he will not have the opportunity to build on just his third goal for the Reds across all competitions for quite some time.
When Will Isak Return From Injury?
An MRI scan confirmed the Swedish international fractured the fibula in his left leg—although the damage could have been a lot worse. He also suffered damage to his ankle but there’s been no confirmation of ligament damage.
Unsurprisingly, such an injury will sideline Isak for a matter of months rather than days, although an exact timeframe is hard to put on it—Arne Slot is hoping it’ll be a “couple of months” which would actually represent a very speed recovery in the grand scheme of things.
This is not the first injury setback for Isak at Liverpool, with the forward having already missed seven games for club and country this season. A lack of match fitness resulted in a slow start on Merseyside after the move from Newcastle United, while an adductor injury saw him miss a few weeks from late October to early November.
Which Liverpool Games Will Isak Miss Through Injury?
It’s difficult to predict just how many matches Isak will be absent for following his latest injury, but should he be sidelined for two months as Slot hopes, he’s unlikely to return until the beginning of March.
That would result in Isak missing a minimum of 14 and maximum of 17 matches in total for Liverpool—the latter if the Reds are forced into the Champions League knockout play-off round and reach the FA Cup fourth round.
In that time, Isak would miss some key matches. Liverpool’s final Champions League league phase games against Marseille (A) and Qarabağ (H) would pass him by, as would crunch Premier League clashes with Arsenal (A), Manchester City (H) and a reunion with Newcastle (H) on the last day of January.
Luckily for Liverpool, Hugo Ekitiké is in excellent goalscoring form, but an injury to the Frenchman would plunge the Reds into crisis with no other natural centre forward options. Federico Chiesa, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah—the latter currently at the Africa Cup of Nations—are unorthodox alternatives.
The Liverpool Matches Alexander Isak Could Miss
| Date | Opponent | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 27 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) | Premier League |
| Jan. 1 | Leeds United (H) | Premier League |
| Jan. 4 | Fulham (A) | Premier League |
| Jan. 8 | Arsenal (A) | Premier League |
| Jan. 12 | Barnsley (H) | FA Cup Third Round |
| Jan. 17 | Burnley (H) | Premier League |
| Jan. 21 | Marseille (A) | Champions League |
| Jan. 24 | Bournemouth (A) | Premier League |
| Jan. 28 | Qarabağ (H) | Champions League |
| Jan. 31 | Newcastle United (H) | Premier League |
| Feb. 8 | Manchester City (H) | Premier League |
| Feb. 11 | Sunderland (A) | Premier League |
| Feb. 14* | TBC | FA Cup Fourth Round |
| Feb. 17-18* | TBC | Champions League Knockout Play-Off First Leg |
| Feb. 21 | Nottingham Forest (A) | Premier League |
| Feb. 24-25* | TBC | Champions League Knockout Play-Off Second Leg |
| Feb. 28 | West Ham United (H) | Premier League |
*Matches will only take place if Liverpool participate in the Champions League knockout phase play-off and FA Cup fourth round.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Games Alexander Isak Could Miss if Arne Slot Injury Prediction Comes True.
