Crisis averted?! Liverpool told they don't need to sign Alexander Isak replacement as injury timeline revealed following fractured leg

Liverpool ran out 2-1 winners at Tottenham in part thanks to Isak's opening goal. However, in the act of scoring, the striker was caught late by Spurs defender Micky van de Ven and hobbled off minutes after breaking the deadlock. The Reds' other summer striker signing, Hugo Ekitike, grabbed the visitors' second goal of the evening.

Speaking to Casino Beats, injury expert Ben Dinnery has claimed it wouldn't be worth Liverpool's time to try and sign high-level cover for Isak during the January window, as Arne Slot already has plenty of attacking options to choose from.

"My immediate thought is that Liverpool won't need to find a solution to Alexander Isak's injury in the January transfer window," he said. "The expectation is Isak will return before the end of the season and Liverpool have enough depth across their forward line. 

"The obvious pick to fill Isak's void is Hugo Ekitike, but they'll have Mohamed Salah return in January after AFCON, and the club could even deploy Dominik Szoboszlai across the front three.

"Liverpool's dilemma will be whether they can recruit a player who matches the quality they expect from a first-team striker. For any player they might look to sign, the player themselves might consider their role at the club in the long-term, given the club's options in Ekitike and Isak. Furthermore, signings come at a premium in January. Selling clubs hold more leverage mid-season.

"Antoine Semenyo has been linked with the club, and he's certainly someone who can play across multiple positions, but I think Liverpool's focus - if they were to recruit in January - would be finding someone to support Ekitike rather than compete with him for an out-and-out striker position."

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Though Isak will spend significant time on the treatment table, Dinnery expects the forward to be available again come March, though the club should keep half an eye on his preparations for the 2026-27 season.

"With a fractured fibula, the extent of the injury will naturally depend on the severity," he added. "The standard time out for this kind of injury is usually six to eight weeks, but Isak's ankle problem and subsequent surgery has complicated that. The recovery process may involve setbacks - rarely do players have a clear and uninterrupted path back to full fitness in these circumstances.

"It felt like we were beginning to see Isak perform at similar levels to his Newcastle career, whereby he was approaching higher levels of fitness, having missed pre-season entirely.

"The harsh reality is, Isak will likely return towards the back end of the season, be given minutes to slowly bring him up to speed again, but the focus will be on having a really strong pre-season going into next year."

At a press conference on Tuesday, Slot laid into Van de Ven for the challenge that hurt Isak, claiming it was 'reckless' and was certain to have caused serious injury.

"It was a reckless challenge," Slot said. "I've said a lot about the tackle of Xavi Simons [on Virgil van Dijk], which for me was completely unintentional. I don't think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that," he told reporters. "But the tackle of Van de Ven, if you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury."