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Liverpool are set to face Arsenal in January but Alexander Isak may not be available after picking up a fresh injury
Liverpool are sweating on the fitness of Alexander Isak for the festive period, with the Reds forward potentially missing the Premier League clash with Arsenal in January.
Isak broke the deadlock in the 56th minute of a 2-1 win at Tottenham with a slick finish from a pass by Florian Wirtz, but was caught by Micky van de Ven on his left ankle. Summer recruit Isak hobbled off after only his third goal for Liverpool and Arne Slot conceded the early signs were not positive.
“I don’t have any news,” Slot explained on Saturday night. “But if a player doesn’t even try to come back, that is usually not a good thing but I cannot say anything more than that. That is just gut feeling and nothing medical.
“(The goal) is what we would like to see happening a lot. A good finish, a good pass, but let’s not be too negative yet. We don’t know yet. Let’s hope he is back with us soon.
“With Alex and Conor (Bradley) we have to wait. You could see our bench as well, but this is not the first time in the last few weeks and we’re picking up points. That’s the main thing.”
Arsenal, who beat Everton 1-0 on Saturday to go top at Christmas, are set to welcome Liverpool to Emirates Stadium on January 8. It is unclear at this stage if Isak will be fit in time for the clash, with the Swede set to undergo tests in the coming days.
The noise around Slot’s position increased dramatically during a terrible November with a 4-1 home loss to PSV particularly painful. However, Liverpool have seemingly emerged stronger with three consecutive wins in an unbeaten run of six matches to move back into the top-four picture.
Slot added: “Of course we’re happy with that but when we started the season, it wasn’t as if I was thrilled and completely happy when we were top-four. We’re always aiming for the best possible and after the very good start we had, we were disappointed with the run of results we had afterwards, but we are now on equal points for top-four.
“I think it has never been as bad as people said, but it’s also true that we are definitely not perfect yet. We knew this and when we made so many changes in the summer, that it would take time.”
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