Liverpool fear Alexander Isak has sustained a broken left leg and is set for a lengthy lay-off following the injury he sustained at Tottenham.
The British record signing was left writhing in agony following the impact of a heavy challenge from Tottenham defender Mickey van de Ven, one which surprisingly went unchecked by VAR officials at Stockley Park.
It was initially speculated that the £125million striker had suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage – one social media account, with a following of more than 60,000, irresponsibly posted the news as definitive – and the misinformation left the club enraged.
The reigning champions were relived to eliminate the possibility that Isak had endured that fate but they knew after MRI scans on Sunday, after they had returned back from London, this was going to be a complicated issue.
Though Isak was able to hobble off the pitch, with the assistance of Liverpool’s lead physio Chris Morgan and club doctor, Jonathon Power, he will now begin the painful period of rehabilitation.
It is a devastating blow for the club and it is likely to mean he will not be available for selection again until March at the earliest, with such injuries usually coming with a three-month time frame.
Alexander Isak was forced off with injury during Liverpool’s clash with Tottenham on Saturday
Asked about the injury on Saturday, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said: ‘We’ll have to wait and see. But if a player scores and then gets injured and doesn’t try to come back on the pitch, that’s usually not a good thing.’
This is the latest – and most serious – setback Isak has endured since swapping Tyneside for Merseyside. He arrived lacking match fitness and struggled to make an impact in his first six weeks, before suffering a groin issue against Eintracht Frankfurt.
He returned to score his first Premier League goal in victory at West Ham last month but his strike against Tottenham was the first time Isak had genuinely shown the quality of why Liverpool wanted to break the British transfer record.
The setback comes at a time when Liverpool are already without Mohamed Salah, who is at the Africa Cup of Nations, and it leaves them with just Hugo Ekitike as their only fit central striker.
