Alexander Isak is set to return to Liverpool’s full team training today, head coach Arne Slott has revealed. The striker has been out of action since December 20, when he broke his foot following a challenge from Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven during the Reds’ 2-1 win in north London. The £125m forward came off the bench in the second half to open the scoring at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but was caught by Van de Ven as he found the back of the net.
Isak has since undergone surgery to address the injury and will take a major step towards recovery on Thursday when Liverpool’s internationals return to the AXA training center after almost four months on the sidelines. This raises the possibility that the former Newcastle United frontman will be on the bench when the Reds face Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals at lunchtime on Saturday.
“I think Alex is in a really good situation because Sweden qualified for the World Cup last night. Apart from that, he’s going to train again with the group for the first time tomorrow,” Slott told Liverpoolfc.com.
“If you work hard for three or four months or something like that and then go back to training with the team, that’s very good for everyone. So Alex is in a good position in that sense.”
“Obviously, it’s only been his first session since he’s been in the team for three or four months, but we all know who we signed and we signed a great striker, so it’s good to have him back.”
“So having him back in a team that usually creates quite a lot of chances, maybe not immediately from the first moment he can start, but I think having him back for the last two months will be very beneficial for us.”
Slott also confirmed that Mohamed Salah and Federico Chiesa are fit to face City.
Salah was absent from the 2-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break due to a muscular injury, while fellow forward Chiesa withdrew from the Italian squad.
Despite this, goalkeeper Alisson Becker remains absent and Slott revealed that right-back Jeremy Frimpong will be tested today (Wednesday) after being sent off in Tuesday night’s match between Netherlands and Ecuador.
