After Alexander Isak broke his leg in Liverpool's victory over Tottenham Hotspur, Spurs defender Micky van de Ven opened up about his text exchange with the Swede following his damaging challenge
Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has suggested Alexander Isak has forgiven him for the challenge which broke the Liverpool forward's leg.
Isak, 26, went under the knife on Monday to after suffering a fractured left fibula. His painful injury was caused by Van de Ven's attempt of blocking the £125million forward's opening goal against Spurs.
Isak's strike proved to be crucial as it helped Arne Slot's side win 2-1 in north London. Slot was furious with the Dutchman's tackle, accusing him of being reckless, while Thomas Frank rejected the Liverpool boss' stern condemnation. Despite the comments of both managers, Van de Ven reached out to Isak to apologise for what happened.
The Netherlands international detailed the conversation he had with Isak once the severity of the injury became clear.
He told Sky Sports: "Yeah, I've texted him, of course. I sent him a text because I didn't want to injure him. I didn't want to do something to hurt him, of course.
"I just wanted to try to block the shot and I think it was a bit unlucky how his foot landed between my legs. So yeah, I sent him a text afterwards, and I wanted to wish him all the best for his recovery. That's what I said to him. He really appreciated the message. He texted back."
Isak now faces several months out of action following the latest blow in what has been a challenging campaign since his British record £125m move from Newcastle United at the beginning of September.
Slot was furious with the tackle which resulted in Isak being helped off the pitch. The former Feyenoord manager said: "This was for me a reckless challenge. I think I said a lot about the challenge of Xavi Simons (on Virgil van Dijk, for which he was sent off), which for me was completely unintentional.
"I don't think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that. The tackle of Van de Ven, if you make that tackle 10 times, I think 10 times there's a serious chance that a player gets a serious injury."
But Frank insisted the anger is misplaced as Van de Ven had every right to make a challenge, before stating Isak's leg break was down to an unfortunate landing, rather than any force from the central defender. The ex-Brentford manager said: "I am obviously disagreeing (with Slot) in many ways.
"We are talking about a defender that will do everything he can to avoid the goal. It is a transition, there is a ball down the side and he is doing everything he can to block the shot so he is sliding.
"Unfortunately Isak plants his foot so it makes it look worse than it is, but that is a natural action for a defender. Put it this way, if my defender does not do that, they are not true defenders!
"Reckless challenge? I don't think you see anything like that from Micky. He is very fair and I know the two players have sorted it out, so that's a good sign."