Liverpool’s run-in to the end of the season has been given a gargantuan boost as Alexander Isak returns to training.
The Reds confirmed the superstar striker will re-join his teammates on Thursday.
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What was Alexander Isak’s injury and when did it happen?
There were fears the £125million man would be out for the season when he suffered a fibula fracture during Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Tottenham in December.
Isak bagged the opening goal in north London but was caught by Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven in the process of shooting.
The Sweden international successfully underwent surgery days later, with Liverpool confirming there was ‘no timeframe’ on his return.
Luckily for the Reds, news of Isak returning to training means he is expected to be available for the final burst of fixtures.
Slot: Isak’s return is ‘very helpful for us’
Speaking to the Liverpool club website, Reds boss Arne Slot declared Isak’s impending availability as ‘very helpful’ given the club remains alive in the FA Cup and Champions League.
“I think Alex is in a really good place because Sweden qualified for the World Cup yesterday evening and apart from that he’s going to train with the group again for the first time tomorrow,” Slot said on Wednesday.
“If you’ve worked so hard for three, four months or something like that and then to return to team training, that’s for everyone very nice. So Alex is, in that sense, in a good place.
“Of course it’s only his first session, after three or four months [out], with the team but it’s good to have him back because we all know who we signed and we’ve signed an incredible striker.
“So to have him again in a team that’s usually generating quite a lot of chances – and maybe not immediately from the first moment that he can start – but to have him back for the last two months is, I think, very helpful for us.”
With Isak’s return to training, focus will then shift towards when he will be available to play.
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Who will Liverpool play next?
The fixtures will come thick and fast for Slot’s side, with their first match following the international break coming on Saturday in a FA Cup quarter-final clash against Manchester City, live on talkSPORT.
Liverpool then travel to France for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain, which will be played on April 9.
The Reds will return to Premier League action on April 12 with a home fixture against Fulham.
So, is there a chance Isak features in any of those three fixtures?
When exactly will Isak make his return?
According to The Athletic’s Liverpool reporter James Pearce, there’s one match in particular that looms as one Isak could be thrust into.
“I certainly expect him to feature in some of them,” Pearce said on the latest episode of Inside Liverpool.
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“I wonder if City on Saturday might come be a bit too soon for him. He is due to return to team training later on this week when the full squad re-assemble.
“Having been out since December, I’d be surprised if he was in a position to be thrown straight back in.
“I was told the other day is the expectation he’ll certainly play some part in the tie against PSG. So whether that’s hopefully maybe off the bench in the first leg, if not in the second one at Anfield.
“How desperately do Liverpool need him to start repaying that transfer fee in the next five, six weeks because it’s been a brutal first season at Liverpool, right from when he first arrived and how much time he needed to get up to speed having not done a pre-season, then the injuries.
“Just when he scores that goal at Tottenham and you think, ‘That’s the Isak Liverpool paid all that money for’, then literally a second after he’s hit that ball, he suffers that broken leg from Micky van de Ven’s challenge.
“Getting him back should give everyone a lift.”
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