Alexander Isak injury news after Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Sign up to The LFC Bulletin with Will Rooney
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to LiverpoolWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
Submitting...
Liverpool striker Alexander Isak is likely to have avoided a serious knee injury, it has been suggested.
But the Sweden international could still face a lengthy spell on the sidelines after being forced off in the 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Isak came off the bench at half-time and put the Reds in front against 10-man Spurs only 10 minutes later with a clinical finish. However, he did not get to celebrate his second Premier League goal since joining Liverpool from Newcastle United for a British record fee of £125 million. After shooting, Isak was clattered by a late challenge from Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven.
The centre-forward needed several minutes of treatment and could not continue. After the game, Anfield head coach Arne Slot could not give too many details about the nature of Isak’s issue. Slot said: “I don't have any news on him, but if a player scores, then gets injured and then doesn't come back on the pitch and doesn't try to come back... which Conor Bradley, for example, did, but I had to take him off as well because he couldn't go on, but if a player doesn't even try to come back that's usually not a good thing. But I cannot say anything more than that, that is just [a] gut feeling. Nothing medical to say about it.”
Injury analysis
There have been some fears that Isak might have sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage. In that case, the 26-year-old would not play again this season.
However, according to the popular social media account @physioscout, which provides football injury analysis, ACL damage is ‘less likely’ than an ankle problem. But a high-level sprain could see Isak unavailable for up to 10 weeks.
A post on Instagram said: “Scissor-tackle type mechanism typically brings concern for a high/medial ankle sprain, potentially due to forced ankle eversion and rotation. Fibula (lower leg bone) also is a common injury site due to direct contact.
“These types of tackles can also place stress on the knee structures due to forced valgus, particularly the MCL. ACL is also vulnerable, but less likely. “Expected Recovery Times: If high ankle sprain: 8-10 weeks. If medial ankle sprain: 2-6 weeks. If MCL: depending on grade, can range from 2-12 weeks. More likely scenario here is a high ankle sprain, X-rays and further scans will be needed to clear any fracture sites.”
Liverpool also saw Conor Bradley taken off at half-time after having treatment in the first half. The right-back is able to make it to the interval before he was replaced by Isak.
Slot added: “With Alex and with Conor, we have to wait. You could see our bench today as well, but this is not for the first time in the last few weeks and we are picking up points and that's the main thing. We are not the only team that suffers injuries in this period in England because we play so many games. This is quite normal, that teams have injuries in this period of time.”