Arne Slot reveals when he expects Alexander Isak to return from injury after Sweden omission

The forward has not played since December but is closing in on return to the team. Isak was seen running this week but was not named in the Sweden squad for March's international fixtures

Arne Slot revealed he expects Alexander Isak to be back from injury in time for the PSG clash next month(Image: DARREN STAPLES, AFP via Getty Images)

Arne Slot has said he expects to have Alexander Isak back in time for the Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain next month, but added he remains unsure what sort of impact the Premier League’s most expensive-ever signing will have in the final months of the season.

Isak’s maiden campaign at Anfield has been overshadowed by fitness issues, and after arriving from Newcastle, he struggled to get up to speed after a disjointed summer pre-season, before suffering a groin injury in October. After regaining fitness, Isak sustained a fresh issue just days before Christmas, when a reckless Micky van de Ven challenge resulted in a broken leg.

That injury required surgery, and Isak has been working his way back toward full fitness ever since. The Sweden star was seen running at the AXA Training Centre this week but has not yet begun working with his team-mates, nor was he included in the Sweden squad for the upcoming World Cup play-offs.

However, Slot is hopeful he will play some part in the next month. "Alex will available [for PSG], yes,” the Liverpool head coach said on Friday. “The question is what you mean around 'being ready.'

“If you want to have the player who played exactly a year ago against us in the Carabao Cup final — and was too good for us on that day — then I would tell you I have my doubts about that after seven or eight months out.

“But I expect that I can use him for minutes. Exactly what I get from that I cannot tell you because he hasn't trained with the team even once.”

Isak was spotted training by himself on Tuesday as he continues his recuperation from a broken leg(Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool returns from March’s international break with a clash against Manchester City in two weeks, before facing PSG on April 8 and 14.

The ability to call upon Isak would be hugely appreciated by Slot, who recently revealed Hugo Ekitike has struggled with the physical demands of playing every week. Yet, Isak may not be an immediate selection when club soccer returns at the start of April.

“He [Isak] still is not able to train with the team and he hasn't been able to train with the team and usual rehab is before you start to train with the team and then you play games. You don't, after one training session, play 45 minutes or 90 minutes,” said Slot.

“If we want to play a game [during the international break], we will have to ask if three-versus-three is possible. We have the Under-21s team but Alex is not yet ready to play in the international break. If he would have been, he would have been with Sweden.

Slot called for caution when discussing Isak's return from injury(Image: Getty Images)

“It is 100 percent sure fans will see the best of him next season and we are trying to make sure that we will see close to the best or the best of him this season,” he added.

“I am just as excited as the fans to have him back because I think it is fair to say that 90 percent of our games, we've had more chances than the other team, so if we had one of the best strikers in the world playing for you, then that would have usually meant that you would have had more points.

“So that everyone is excited, apart from the fact that he was so good at Newcastle, I can understand it. I don't want to downgrade it too much because I think he can have an impact when he is back [this season].

“But if you tell me it is more realistic to expect that next season from him than against Man City or PSG - I don't think he is available for Man City by the way - but we will use him in the upcoming two months. That is for sure.”