Liverpool have a ready-made solution to fill the void left by Alexander Isak following confirmation of his injury. The Swedish striker fell victim to a hefty challenge from Micky van de Ven whilst netting Liverpool's opener against Tottenham on Saturday, forcing his withdrawal after just 11 minutes on the pitch.
Isak immediately grabbed his lower leg before limping from the field, with fears of a serious problem confirmed in Liverpool's official statement, which read: "Alexander Isak today successfully underwent surgery on the injury he sustained on Saturday. The Liverpool striker was injured in a challenge in the process of scoring the opening goal against Tottenham Hotspur and had to be substituted.
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"After diagnosis, an operation was completed today on an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture. Isak's rehabilitation will now continue at the AXA Training Centre, with no timeframe yet placed on his return."
After Isak's goal, Hugo Ekitike extended the Reds' lead with a superbly directed header - his fifth strike in just three Premier League outings, demonstrating his credentials to assume Liverpool's central striking role.
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Slot appears satisfied with the Frenchman's displays thus far, though he remains eager to extract even more from him. The Liverpool boss said: "He still needs to get stronger, but he's already become stronger. He can score a goal, he has great footwork, dribbling skills, he has so much in his locker.
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"He's adjusted to the Premier League now, the biggest thing is how he can become physically outstanding, that's what he's working on really hard.
"In the last two, three, four minutes he was very, very, very tired at Tottenham. I see this often. But there's hardly any rest for these players, I have to give them a lot of compliments. Every time they fight, fight and fight from first second to the last."
With Isak sidelined for several months, Slot's remarks take on added significance as Liverpool face four fixtures in just 12 days, beginning with Wolves.
The Reds boss is grappling with multiple fitness concerns after both Florian Wirtz and Conor Bradley were forced off during the Tottenham encounter with suspected knocks. This compounds existing absences, with Cody Gakpo, Wataru Endo and Joe Gomez all currently unavailable for selection.
Addressing the injury situation, Slot revealed: "Conor will be 50/50. He's not training with us today or tomorrow. Friday we will see exactly where he is if he can be in squad. Joe won't be available, Wata won't be, Cody is a bit similar to Conor.
"Florian is okay. Just had cramp at Tottenham. In an ideal world, I could have rested him more. But he's okay."