Liverpool face Newcastle United at St James' Park on Wednesday night
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United goes down injured during the Premier League match against Crystal Palace
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United goes down injured during the Premier League match against Crystal Palace
(Image: Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Alexander Isak has declared himself fit for Newcastle's Premier League game against Liverpool on Wednesday night. The Swede managed just 21 minutes of action in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace before suffering an injury and needing to be replaced by Harvey Barnes.
Speaking after the game at Selhurst Park, manager Eddie Howe revealed that Isak's issue was impact-related rather than a muscle issue and was hopeful the forward wouldn't be sidelined for too long.
However, Isak has now declared himself fit for Wednesday's Premier League game at St James' Park. "I am fine," Isak told beINSport. "It was really painful, a bad knock, but I've responded well."
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Liverpool travel to Tyneside nine points clear at the top of the Premier League after Sunday's 2-0 win over Manchester City. But Slot's side now face a difficult run of six away games - including Everton, Tottenham and West Ham - before the end of the month.
Liverpool will be without defenders Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley on Wednesday night. And the fixture could come too soon for Alisson Becker, who has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury at Crystal Palace at the start of October.
However, Virgil van Dijk believes that the Brazilian's deputy, Caoimhin Kelleher, has proven he is more than capable of stepping in between the sticks.
“He was very solid," said the Liverpool skipper. "I think everyone was outstanding defensively, not only the backline, from starting up front to the midfield. But Joe was fantastic.
"Trent coming in after so long as well, you could see at the end he was a little bit tired, and Jarell did well as well in the right-back position. The same goes for Robbo, he was outstanding as well. That's what we need if we want to win games."