Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City will come too soon for Liverpool striker Alexander Isak, but head coach Arne Slott said the Swede is in much better shape physically than before he broke his foot.
Isak, who joined the Champions from Newcastle for a record £125 million on September 1, returned to first-team training on Thursday after being sidelined for 101 days after being injured in a game against Tottenham Hotspur on December 20.
The timing is good for Slott as the Reds prepare for a crucial end-of-season series across three competitions that could decide the Dutchman’s future at Anfield, starting with Saturday lunch’s game against the Etihad.
Isak is not fit enough to start in the FA Cup last eight fixture, but the striker could be on the bench.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Alexander Isak scores for Liverpool but gets injured against Spurs
“No, it would definitely be too early to expect him to be in the starting lineup,” Slott admitted in his pregame press conference. “He trained with us for the first time yesterday (Thursday) and today (Friday) he trained for the second time in exactly 101 days.
“It’s going to take a little bit of time to get him a lot of playing time, but we’re going to do the right thing in terms of building him up in the minutes. But it’s very good to have him on the practice field again. It’s even better if we can get him in games, that’s for sure.”
“If he’s not training, he can be on the bench, but the question is whether he’s ready to play a few minutes. That’s another question. It’s a difficult question because we don’t play regular games.”
“What I’m saying is that it complicates things even more when you bring him in because you could potentially go into extra time. If we think he can only play 10 minutes, and we’re already thinking that way and we bring him in 10 minutes before the end and we go into extra time, then of course we can take him out again if we have enough players to bring in another player.
“So let’s take a look, maybe for a few minutes, to see how he is today and how he feels himself. After two training sessions and 100 days, it’s clear that it doesn’t make sense to start him tomorrow.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Free to watch: Premier League Brighton vs Liverpool highlights
Either way, the good news for Liverpool is that the 26-year-old looks “stronger” physically after a long injury spell after a difficult start at Anfield, scoring just two goals in the Premier League. The second of those goals came as a result of breaking his leg at Spurs before Christmas.
But Slott said the player had made great progress in that time and was hopeful he could play a role in the Reds’ bid to win the FA Cup and Champions League double, with the Reds also set to face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of Europe’s top club competition.
I’m really, really, really happy to be able to at least wear the number 9 behind or with Ugo (Ekitike).
Liverpool manager Arne Slott
“The rehab did a great job,” he said. “When you look at him now, you can see that he’s a much stronger player and a much better physical player than he was before the injury.
“But from 100 days off to the intensity of the Premier League and towards the end of the Champions League, what can you realistically expect when the opposition in front of you is usually even tougher? It’s difficult, but at least I’m really, really, really happy to be able to wear the number nine behind or with Hugo (Ekitike).”
“That’s already a positive thing. And what should we expect? I’ve said many times that next season, when he gets into proper pre-season, we can probably expect more from him than we are now, but even in his current state it’s already a big step forward for us compared to when he was injured.”
“It will be a big help for Mo to be able to maintain the form he has maintained over the years.”
Slott also confirmed that Mohamed Salah will be available for City after recovering from a muscle tweak suffered at the end of Liverpool’s Champions League last-16 win over Galatasaray before the international break.
“Yes, he is (healthy),” Slott said. “He trained with us yesterday, he trained with us today and he will be available for tomorrow’s game.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Slott talks about Salah leaving Liverpool. Photos from Liverpool FC
Salah recently announced he would leave the club at the end of the season, but Slott hopes the Egyptian forward can win at least one trophy before the end of the season to end his Reds career in style.
“I don’t think it matters to Mo whether he leaves or stays at the club,” Slott added. “He’s shown over the last eight or nine years that he can always play at his best and that hasn’t changed.
“Mo has always given his all for this club over the years he has been here, so he will eventually leave. So I hope he can contribute more, but that is not realistic because he has always given his all. And he will try to do that until the end of the season.”
“And if Mo can maintain the form he has had over the years, it will be a big help for us towards the end of the season.”
Mixed news about Alison and Frimpong
Slott also provided contrasting updates on the fitness of goalkeeper Alisson Becker and right-back Jeremy Frimpong ahead of a busy period for Liverpool.
Brazilian international Alisson will be sidelined until the end of the season due to a recurrence of a hamstring injury he sustained during training. However, the Reds manager was more hopeful about Dutch defender Frimpong, who came on as a substitute in Tuesday’s 1-1 friendly against Ecuador and is expected to be available for City this weekend.
Jeremy Frimpong receives treatment for hamstring injury
“He (Alison) won’t even play in the Man City game, so he’ll be out for a bit longer,” Slott said. “Towards the end of the season, we expect him to be fit again.
“Yes, he (Frimpong) seems to be okay. He trained well with us yesterday and he will train with us tomorrow as well.”
“But he was one of the players I mentioned against Brighton. I think you can see in the second half that he’s still taking a step forward every three days.”
“Then he goes to the national team, which is another interesting and difficult choice. The games are very fast, so it’s about how many minutes he plays in each game. As we know, we don’t have eight right-backs available.”
Saturday, April 11th 5pm
5:30pm kickoff
Liverpool’s remaining matches:
Saturday 4th April: Man City (A) – FA Cup quarter-final Wednesday 8th April: PSG (A) – Champions League quarter-final first leg Saturday 11th April: Fulham (H) – Premier League, live on Sky Sports Tuesday 14th April: PSG (H) – Champions League quarter-final second leg Sunday 19th April: Everton (A) – Premier League, live on Sky Sports Saturday 25th April: Crystal Palace (H) – Premier League Sunday 3rd May: Man United (A) – Premier League Saturday 9th May: Chelsea (H) – Premier League Sunday 17th May: Aston Villa (A) – Premier League Sunday 24th May: Brentford (H) – Premier League
