Arne Slot has confirmed that Alexander Isak won’t be availabe for Liverpool’s Champions League round-of-16 second leg against Galatasaray on Wednesday night, despite his appearance in team training today.
The Reds’ club-record signing has been out injured for the past three months after suffering a broken leg in the 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur just before Christmas, although recent reports had hinted at a possible return in early April.
The 26-year-old was seen undergoing an individual training programme in Kirkby earlier today as he continues his rehabilitation away from the main first-team group (Liverpool Echo).
In his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Slot was asked for an update on Isak’s fitness, and the Liverpool head coach outlined that the striker is getting closer to a return but won’t be back for his club this month.
The Reds boss said (via Liverpool Echo): “Alex is not available [v Galatasaray]… The fact that you see Alex on the [training] pitch shows he is getting closer. He won’t be available [v Brighton] on Saturday either.”
Slot declined to specify a timescale for Isak’s return to action when asked, saying: “If you have done months on the individual sessions, it’s quite a step up to train with the team, and then it’s a step up to play in the Premier League and Champions League.”
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It would’ve been a pleasant surprise to see Liverpool’s number 9 back in action this week, and the fact that he hasn’t resumed team training just yet indicates that he still has progress to make in his rehabilitation.
However, his presence on the grass today would appear to be a notable step forward in his recovery, and hopefully the international window will give him the scope to regain match fitness by the time the Reds play Manchester City in the FA Cup on 4 April.
It’s expected that he won’t make the Sweden squad for their World Cup play-off against Ukraine next week, which’d give him additional time to continue his rehab on Merseyside rather than jetting off with his national team.
Considering the injury problems he’s had since his move to Liverpool just over six months ago, it must be kept in mind that Isak may need a few games to fully get up to speed after he returns to action, and his comeback will likely be a phased one rather than being thrown straight back in at the deep end.
However, with Hugo Ekitike enduring a dip in form (just one goal in his last eight games) after carrying the centre-forward burden for several months, the Swedish striker’s return will be greatly appreciated whenever it happens, and it now appears to be not too far away.
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