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Alexander Isak Makes Liverpool Vow After Horror Leg Break
Liverpool striker Alexander Isak says he’ll work as hard as he can to return to action quickly after undergoing surgery on a fractured fibula.
The gangly 6'4" Swede arrived on Merseyside with a huge amount of expectation placed on his shoulders. After breaking the British transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, the Reds did so again to prise Isak away from Newcastle United—the split was acrimonious as the player refused to train in order to push the move through—after agreeing to pay a gargantuan £125 million ($169 million).
With a lack of preseason football under his belt, Isak’s start has been rather underwhelming. Before arriving at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, he’d notched just two goals—one in the Premier League against West Ham United and one in the Carabao Cup against Southampton—and was struggling to get match fit. He’d even been overlooked in favour of the in-form Hugo Ekitiké—to help ease him into his new surroundings but also because the Frenchman had simply been better.
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For a split-second, things were looking up for Isak as he stroked the ball confidently past Guglielmo Vicario to open the scoring for Liverpool, but delight quickly turned to dread as Micky van de Ven came scything across looking to block the ball. Instead, he cleared out Isak, fracturing the 26-year-old’s fibula in his left leg in addition to damaging his ankle.
Isak has undergone surgery and is now in the early stages of recovery. It’s hoped that he may be good to go again in just a couple of months. For the meantime, he’s taken to social media, through Liverpool’s official accounts, to send a message to supporters.
“Gutted to be out for a while,” Isak said. “Time to recover and support from the sideline. I will work hard to be back as soon as I possibly can. Thank you all reds and everyone else for the kind messages, it does not go unnoticed.”
Isak to Miss Some Key Fixtures
There’s never a good time to lose £125 million’s worth of talent to injury, but Liverpool will be particularly concerned that Isak will not be around for some big games.
To kick off 2026, Leeds United travel to Anfield before seven days later there’s a huge clash with current league leaders Arsenal in north London. The Reds’ final two Champions League league phase games are contested before January is out, against Marseille and Qarabağ—the latter takes place just three days before Isak’s former employers Newcastle head to Merseyside for a spicy encounter.
Manchester City, a potential FA Cup fourth round clash and a two-legged Champions League knockout playoff tie—if Liverpool don’t secure a place in the round of 16 with a top eight finish—are also on the docket before Isak is projected to return.
There could be more important matches to add to that list, with Slot’s hope that Isak may only miss a couple of months perhaps the foresight of a manager choosing to look on the bright side of things rather than one who is fully up to speed with the healing of broken bones.
One thing’s for sure, Slot was not impressed with the tackle of Van de Ven. “For me it was a reckless challenge,” he vented. “I spoke a lot about the challenge from Xavi Simons which was completely unintentional. I don’t think you’ll ever get an injury from that tackle. The tackle of Van de Ven if you make it 10 times, I think 10 times there is a serious chance a player gets a serious injury.”
Fixtures Alexander Isak Will Miss Through Injury
*Select games only
Date | Opponent | Competition |
|---|---|---|
Jan. 1 | Leeds United (H) | Premier League |
Jan. 8 | Arsenal (A) | Premier League |
Jan. 21 | Marseille (A) | Champions League |
Jan. 28 | Qarabağ (H) | Champions League |
Jan. 31 | Newcastle United (H) | Premier League |
Feb. 8 | Manchester City (H) | Premier League |
Feb. 14* | TBC | FA Cup Fourth Round |
Feb. 17–18 | TBC | Champions League Knockout Playoff First Leg |
Feb. 24–25 | TBC | Champions League Knockout Playoff Second Leg |
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Toby Cudworth is Lead Editor for Sports Illustrated FC. A Premier League, EFL & UEFA accredited journalist, Toby supports West Ham United and still can't believe they won a European trophy.