Thomas Frank fires back at Arne Slot over comments on Micky van de Ven and Alexander Isak injury

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The Tottenham defender's desperate lunge on Isak resulted in the Liverpool forward suffering a broken fibula that required surgery and will keep him out for several months

Thomas Frank has responded to Arne Slot's criticism of Micky van de Ven's challenge on Alexander Isak(Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Thomas Frank has responded to Arne Slot’s criticism of Micky Van de Ven’s tackle on Alexander Isak last weekend, which resulted in the latter suffering a broken leg.

The Liverpool forward also sustained an ankle injury in the process and underwent surgery to address the problem on Monday. Slot confirmed ahead of this weekend’s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers that Isak will be out for several months, and hit out at the nature of Van de Ven’s robust challenge in the 2-1 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“For me, this was a reckless challenge,” Slot said on Tuesday. “The tackle of Van de Ven, if you make that tackle 10 times, I think 10 times there is a serious chance that the player gets a serious injury.”

Van de Ven’s tackle has been a major talking point in recent days. The Tottenham defender flew in at full force, and caught Isak’s shooting foot between both of his legs, just as it hit the ground.

But Frank, who expressed his displeasure at the red cards Spurs were shown on Saturday, feels the incident was unfortunate rather than malicious.

“No, I'm obviously disagreeing,” Frank said, when asked about Slot’s comments. “In many ways, I think we are talking about a defender in Micky van de Ven that will do everything he can to avoid the goal, so it's a transition.

Slot criticized Van de Ven's tackle on Isak

“He's sprinting back in, this ball slides down the side, and he does everything he can to see if he can block that shot, so he's sliding.

“Unfortunately, Isak's planted his foot straight there, and that makes it look worse than it is. I think that would be a natural reaction for any defender.

“I'll put it this way: if my defender doesn't do that, then I don't think they are true defenders.

Van de Ven caught Isak high on the leg(Image: Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)

“He's a very fair and competitive player. That's one thing.

“The other thing, you also know that the two players have sorted it out, so that's a good sign of how they've sorted it out. A good sign.”

“I don't really understand the comment, but that's not for me to be too clever about,” Frank added, ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

“I just think if you look at that, there's not too much in it and it's the first time, as you said, so I don't think it will be a problem.”