Blow for Liverpool as Alexander Isak faces lengthy layoff after Spurs win
By BBC, December 23, 2025Liverpool manager Arne Slot has said Alexander Isak faces “a couple of months” out injured after a “reckless” challenge by Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven.
Isak sustained a fracture to his left leg following a sliding tackle from Van de Ven as he scored for the Reds in a 2-1 win at Spurs.
The Swedish international had an operation on what Liverpool described as “an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture.
“It’s going to be a long injury, for a couple of months,” said Slot. “It’s a big disappointment for him and, as a result, for us.”
On Van de Van’s challenge, he added: “This was for me a reckless challenge. The tackle of Van de Ven – if you make that tackle 10 times – I think 10 times there is a serious chance that a player gets a serious injury.”
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said the tackle from Van de Ven was “a challenge I’d probably make.
“There’s a lot been made about a lot of the challenges in the game from Tottenham players, and a lot of them weren’t clever,” Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
“I put myself in Van de Ven’s position, and that’s a challenge I’d probably make.
“He’s trying to block it – it’s just the follow-through. I don’t know where else anyone thinks his foot’s going to go. He has to make that challenge. You can’t let the striker just get a shot away in that situation.
“It’s just really bad luck for Isak. It’s probably one of the first glimpses we’ve seen of his real quality in a Liverpool shirt.”
“It’s a huge blow because I think Liverpool were actually one attacker short anyway.
This summer, he was left out of the Newcastle squad for their pre-season tour of Asia with what the club described as a “minor thigh injury, while it was understood he wanted to explore a move away.
He then trained alone at his former club Real Sociedad before eventually joining Liverpool on deadline day.
He made his Reds debut in a Champions League win against Atletico Madrid in September and scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 win over Southampton, but has struggled for form and fitness since.
His first league goal for Slot’s side came at West Ham on November 30, 2025, before his strike against Tottenham.