Liverpool issue update to confirm Alexander Isak has undergone surgery on leg fracture and is set for long lay-off

A club statement read: "Alexander Isak today successfully underwent surgery on the injury he sustained on Saturday. The Liverpool striker was injured in a challenge in the process of scoring the opening goal against Tottenham Hotspur and had to be substituted. After diagnosis, an operation was completed today on an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture. Isak's rehabilitation will now continue at the AXA Training Centre, with no timeframe yet placed on his return."

Isak's injury is a huge blow for Liverpool after the club splashed out a British transfer record fee of £125 million (€144.5m/$169.3m) to bring the striker in during the summer from Newcastle. The striker missed pre-season due to his protracted exit from the Magpies and has struggled to impress during his brief time at Liverpool. His goal against Tottenham was just his second of the season so far but he was not even able to celebrate his strike as he was brought down awkwardly by a challenge from Van de Van after finding the back of the net. Isak received treatment on the pitch but was not able to continue and had to be helped off. He now faces a long wait to return to action in a fresh blow to the Swede during what's been a difficult first season at Anfield.

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Isak's injury means that manager Arne Slot is now short of options in attack. He is already without Mohamed Salah, who is on AFCON duty with Egypt, while Cody Gakpo remains sidelined due to injury and is not due back until the new year. The good news for Slot is that Hugo Ekitike is in good form, currently. The Frenchman has five goals in his last four games for the Reds to take his tally to the season to 11 in all competitions for the Reds. With Isak now facing a significant spell on the sidelines, Slot will look to Ekitike to continue his good goalscoring form.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has shared his thoughts on what he feels the Reds will do without Isak. He said on Sky Sports: "One thing for certain now, Mo Salah will be staying at the club.  I think there’s a good chance Harvey Elliott would come back from Aston Villa as well. Whether Liverpool go for a striker or another attacking player like Semenyo, who Liverpool have been heavily linked with as well, I think we all know he’s got a buyout clause in January.

"Then you’ve got wide players, as in Salah and Gakpo, who’ve played a lot of games through the middle as well. You’ve got young Jayden Danns. But I think that’s the way they could go around it because I don’t think Liverpool, when you go back a few years, when they had a real problem at centre-back, they didn’t go and spend big money on someone they didn’t want. So they won’t go out and buy a striker who they don’t really want. So if they do want Semenyo, I think that’s probably a good way around it."

Liverpool now head into a busy festive period that will prove testing for a squad missing key players. Slot's side are back in action at Anfield on December 27th against bottom side Wolves and then face Leeds United in another home game. Liverpool then take on Fulham and Arsenal at the start of 2026, before coming up against Barnsley in the third round of the FA Cup.