Sweden manager responds to Alexander Isak injury latest following Arne Slot update

Liverpool might be able to see Alexander Isak in action again next month, with Sweden boss Graham Potter reacting to the news that his star man is working his way back to fitness

Liverpool and Sweden striker Alexander Isak.(Image: Atila Altuntas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Sweden manager Graham Potter says his country will find a way to play without Alexander Isak next month in the likely event that it needs to, with the Liverpool striker working his way back from a broken leg.

After scoring against Tottenham in December, Micky van de Ven clattered into Isak and left him with a serious injury. Following his British-record $169 million (£125 million) transfer move from Newcastle United last summer, he is yet to get going.

However, Arne Slot revealed last week that Isak could be back playing again around the March international break, even if it might then take some time for him to regain proper sharpness.

Sweden is set to take on Ukraine in a World Cup play-off semi-final next month. If it wins that tie, either Poland or Albania will be next with a place at the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico on the line.

Potter, the former Brighton and Chelsea head coach, is also sweating on the availability of Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall, with another Spurs man, Dejan Kulusevski, set to be sidelined.

"Right now, we're just keeping our fingers crossed and hopefully we can get some of those guys back," Potter told Sportbladet. "But if not, we have to find a solution with the guys that are available."

Alexander Isak limps off from Liverpool's 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on December 20, 2025(Image: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Ahead of Liverpool taking on Nottingham Forest, Slot detailed that Isak was stepping up his recovery, but played down any ideas that he could be back and fully firing soon.

"I think we all know when the moment you go onto the pitch [that] it doesn’t take three months anymore," Slot said. "But these final stages of rehab are also the ones that can make things change.

"So, in the gym you can hardly do too much and in this stage you constantly have to wait and see if you tick the next box, the next box, the next box... so, let’s not put a timescale on it, but it’s clear that he will be available, if things go as planned, this season.

"It will be somewhere around there and then it’s always the question if things go really well or if he gets a little bit of a setback. So, it will be around that period of time — end of March, start of April, when he’s hopefully back with the group.

"When you’re back with the group it’s not to say that you are ready to play, let alone start, a game of football because, again, he’s been out for months.

"And the last time he’s been out for months, I think we could all see that it took him a while before he was the player we have signed from Newcastle."

Liverpool.com says: Isak being back available will take the pressure off Hugo Ekitike at number nine, but it is going to take time for him to regain real match fitness. We saw that clearly before he picked up the serious injury he is recovering from now.