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Arne Slot has confirmed Alexander Isak will be available for Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain as he nears recovery from a fractured leg.
The £125m British-record signing has not played since 20 December and has yet to resume full training but, in a boost to Liverpool’s prospects of overcoming the European champions, he is on schedule to feature when the teams meet at the Parc des Princes on 8 April. Isak will clearly not be ready to start after almost four months out but will offer Slot an option from the bench.
“He will be available,” said Slot, who will be without Mohamed Salah and Alisson for Saturday’s early kick-off at Brighton because of muscle injuries. “The question is what you mean by ‘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 months out. But I expect 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. You don’t after one training session play 45 minutes or 90 minutes. If we wanted to arrange a game it would have to be three-v-three because we only have Federico [Chiesa], Curtis [Jones] and Joe [Gomez] available [the rest of the first-team squad are in recovery after Galatasaray]. 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.”
Isak needed several months to get up to speed in the autumn having missed pre-season at Newcastle to force his move to Anfield. Nevertheless, Slot believes the 26-year-old can have an impact in the final months of the campaign. “I am just as excited as the fans to have him back because it is fair to say that in 90% of our games we’ve had more chances than the other team,” said Liverpool’s head coach. “If we had one of the best strikers in the world playing then that would have usually meant that we would have had more points.
“I don’t want to downgrade it too much because I think he can have an impact when he is back, but it is more realistic to expect [100%] from him next season than against Manchester City [in the FA Cup] 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.”
Salah was substituted against Galatasaray on Wednesday having felt a muscle problem that will keep him out for a few weeks. Slot did not put a timeframe on the forward’s absence but he will miss the Brighton game plus Egypt’s friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Spain during the international break. “History has shown he can be back earlier than others because he takes such good care of his body,” said Slot, who admitted Liverpool will have done “close to nothing” in terms of training between recovering from Galatasaray and kicking off at the Amex Stadium.
Alisson has not travelled to Brighton, meaning Giorgi Mamardashvili will deputise. Alisson has also pulled out of the Brazil squad for the upcoming international break.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have condemned the “vile and abhorrent racist abuse” aimed at Ibrahima Konaté after their win over Galatasaray and accused social media companies of allowing racist hatred to spread unchecked.
Konaté has received racist abuse, comments about the recent death of his father and even about Diogo Jota, having been involved in the incident that left Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen with a fractured arm at Anfield on Wednesday. Liverpool have not only condemned the abuse in the strongest possible terms but widened their criticism to include social media companies who fail to prevent it or take action against it.
“This behaviour is utterly unacceptable. It is dehumanising, cowardly and rooted in hate,” read a club statement. “Our players are not targets. They are human beings. The abuse that continues to be directed at players, often hidden behind anonymous accounts, is a stain on the game and on the platforms that allow it to persist.
“Words of condemnation alone are not sufficient. Social media companies must take responsibility and act now. These platforms have the power, the technology and the resources to prevent this abuse, yet too often they fail to do so. Allowing racist hatred to spread unchecked is a choice – and it is one that continues to harm players, families and communities across the game.
“We will continue to offer Ibrahima our full support and will work with the relevant authorities to identify those responsible wherever possible. But the burden cannot keep falling on players and clubs to respond after the damage has already been done. The current situation cannot be allowed to continue. It must be confronted, challenged and eradicated – not tomorrow, but now.”
