NewsArne Slot confident Alexander Isak will play again this season

The Reds’ No.9 was injured in a challenge in the act of scoring the opening goal during Saturday’s 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur and has had an operation on an ankle problem that included a fibula fracture.

Slot was asked on Tuesday morning if there is a timeframe in mind for Isak’s return to action and replied: “No, it’s going to be a long injury. For a couple of months.

“That’s a big, big, big disappointment for him and as a result of that of course also for us.”

Later on in his press conference to preview Liverpool’s meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, the head coach was quizzed on how much support the Sweden forward will need and whether he is ‘confident he can still play a part at the back end of the season’.

Slot answered: “Yeah, the last thing I am. And the first thing, it’s been a really challenging and difficult period for him, I think.

“You join a new club and usually when you join a new club you are, and he was of course, very excited and you want to show immediately all the qualities you have but that was simply impossible.

“Maybe no-one understands but if you haven’t trained for three or four months on a serious level with the team and you’re playing in this league… in this league you need to be on the top of your game to impact a game of football.

“That took, which we all knew, months before we could bring him there because there was no pre-season, there were games, games, games.

“We had hardly any time to train, so we always knew that it would take him time and that’s why he is so unlucky that he is now injured because I think we all saw with his goal against West Ham, with this goal [against Tottenham], that he got closer and closer to the player he was at Newcastle.”