Liverpool get Alexander Isak surgery verdict with Reds facing injury dilemma | Football | Sport

Liverpool have been warned by an injury expert that Alexander Isak might require surgery to avoid further complications down the line. The forward is presently sidelined with a groin complaint that saw him miss the loss to Brentford last weekend. Liverpool signed him from Newcastle United on transfer deadline day in a transaction valued at £125million.

Since his arrival, the Sweden international has managed just one goal in eight outings and it remains uncertain when he will make his comeback. Isak was withdrawn at the interval during Liverpool‘s victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League last week. The Reds are set to face Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening before hosting Aston Villa at Anfield in the Premier League at the weekend, and it’s doubtful whether Isak will feature in either fixture.

With their club-record signing unavailable, Liverpool have been cautioned that they might need to consider Isak going under the knife to prevent additional injuries moving forward.

“With Isak, I might have even had an interview earlier this year of last year about the possibility of discussions being had behind the scenes about how best to manage Alexander Isak,” injury expert Ben Dinnery told the Liverpool Echo.

“Is there maybe a need to go under the knife? There will be a point where they look at that and discuss.

“Surgical intervention is primarily taken for two reasons. One is to minimise or mitigate the risk of re-injury so you’re hoping to stop that.

“Secondly, is to free the player up so they’re returning to those pre-injury levels. Now, of course, there is never a 100 per cent success rate guarantee with these surgeries so that’s why it’s not a decision that is taken lightly.

“The Isak situation, we know that it’s very minor, more of a niggle, but he is being managed.

“You’ve got the form of [Hugo] Ekitike and Isak’s coming off the back of a heavily disrupted pre-season programme. That forms a cornerstone for any player for their upcoming campaign.

“The more sessions and games that you miss during that block, the higher risk you are of picking up an injury. Again, it comes as no surprise that Isak’s going to pick up one or two niggles during these early two months for Liverpool.

“Liverpool supporters will hope that when they go into the second half of the season, they’ll start to see an Isak which justifies that price tag.”