Arne Slot Worried About Isak's Fitness After Injury In Liverpool's Victory In The Champions League

JAKARTA - Arne Slot hopes Alexander Isak will not be absent for several weeks after the Liverpool coach acknowledged his concern over the 125 million forward's fitness following a groin injury in his team's 5-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Thursday, October 23, 2025, early morning WIB.

Liverpool firmly ended four consecutive defeats in all competitions by beating the Bundesliga representative in Germany.

However, Jeremie Frimpong's hamstring injury and Isak's groin injury damaged the image of the Premier League champions' victory.

However, Isak's struggle to gain form and fitness continued, with the former Newcastle striker playing less productive for 45 minutes before being replaced by Federico Chiesa in the second half.

After almost not training during the summer due to his dispute with Newcastle United, Arne Slot said Isak's fitness was starting to worry.

"Alex had to come out during the break of the first half and it wasn't something he wanted. He felt pain at the base of his thigh. So hopefully it's not too bad."

"I hope this isn't that bad. If he was out for a few weeks, it would make him injured or even injured again. I don't know how to explain it."

"However, it's a question of the difficult balance we have experienced with him. When he comes, he almost never trains."

"You try to prepare players for football games once a week, but if Liverpool play every three days, or usually three times in eight days, then you try to prepare them for the program, which is not always easy if there is no pre-season. So, that's what we're trying to do."

"He missed pre-season and didn't train long with the team," said Arne Slot.

Arne Slot said Isak was fit to play against Frankfurt, but admitted that Liverpool had difficulty returning the 26-year-old completely after his disrupted summer.

"He came in early September 2025. We had to take him once a week. Now we're trying to bring him twice a week."

"He was very fit when he returned from the Swedish National Team. He was very fit before the (Manchester) United match."

"So, we hope he is ready to play again today (against Frankfurt), which he did, but he felt a little pain at the base of his thigh."

"I think we did exactly what was needed. We were very careful with him. The Swedish national team too."

"They played him twice last time, which he could actually do. So, I didn't criticize the Swedish national team at all because we told them he was ready to play twice."

"So, the balance is thin if we miss pre-season. Some make it through, some are unfortunately injured again," said the Dutch coach.