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Arne Slot explained that he felt he had no choice but to bring Alexander Isak into the Liverpool team quite soon after his transfer from Newcastle, despite the Sweden striker having not played in any games during pre-season.
Isak joined Liverpool on deadline day, and after being left out of last month's win over Burnley — the first game he was eligible to play in for his new club — the Swede figured in eight successive games for the Reds. The most recent of those games came against Frankfurt last week, when Isak was forced off at half-time due to a hamstring injury.
Isak's refusal to play for Newcastle in pre-season meant he arrived at Liverpool undercooked, having not made an appearance of any sort since Newcastle's final game of last season, on May 25.
Slot explained why he took the decision to use Isak so frequently, which may have led to the striker's body breaking down.
"Alex had to do his pre-season inside the season," Slot said. "People will say 'so why did you play him?' But if I don't, then I won't have him available.
"We need to have him available because otherwise Hugo [Ekitike] has to play every game.
"I was just with Owen Hargreaves and he showed that both of them (Isak and Ekitike) played 34 games last season. But we played 60. That is why I need to get Alex ready as soon as I can, to play as many games as possible.
"This has been an issue with him and a few others, like Jeremie Frimpong. He has picked up a couple of injuries so then Conor Bradley has to play all the time. That is why I have played Dominik Szoboszlai at right back.
"Every team works with this but it is a bit different from last season. Last year, all the players had at least a year's experience in the Premier League. They were fit when we started and they stayed fit.
"This season, they weren't all fit from the start. So some players have to play more than you want them to and that is a risk with getting injured.
"We have more than enough good players available to play the three games this week. But I have to take care of a few of them and that is why I made the decision vs Crystal Palace [to rest a lot of players]."
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