Liverpool face Newcastle United in the Premier League but Jayden Danns will not face his former club.
The striker joined the Reds for a British record fee of £125 million from Newcastle United on summer transfer deadline day. However, Isak endured a soft launch to his Liverpool career as he arrived short of fitness before suffering a month-long groin injury.
Then when scoring in a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur last month, Isak suffered a broken leg due to Micky van de Ven’s challenge trying to stop the shot.
Isak was always expected to be unavailable for a few months. And while he is now out of his protective walking boot, the Sweden international remains sidelined for a prolonged period as Liverpool prepare to face his former club Newcastle at Anfield on Saturday.
“He's not even on the pitch yet,” said Slot at his pre-match press conference. “He's just out of his walker. That tells you that he's not on the pitch yet and are not expecting him out on the pitch today or tomorrow. In terms of his recovery work, it's going to take a while, as we knew.”
Slot also provided updates on long-term absentees Jayden Danns and Stefan Bajcetic. Both would have been in Liverpool’s squad recently given the shortage of players available. Danns, 20, is highly regarded and has scored three goals in 10 first-team appearances. However, the academy product is recovering from a hamstring injury and there is no timeframe on when he might be back to full fitness.
Slot said on Danns: “He'd have definitely been in the squad but unfortunately, he isn't. We don't expect him back today or tomorrow as well. He's been very unlucky in his career until now. The good thing about him is that he has a great mentality, so he's always fighting himself back after setbacks.
“Unfortunately, he's had quite a lot because this would have been a great moment for him with Alexander Isak being out. He would have been able to help us out in certain moments but unfortunately for him, and for us, he has faced a lot of injuries in his career until now. The good thing about him is that he will fight back and come back.”
Bajcetic, meanwhile, has not played a single game at any level this season. The midfielder suffered a hamstring injury on loan at Las Palmas last term and required surgery in the summer. Bajcetic, 21, has had setbacks in his recovery.
Slot is hopeful the Spaniard will be back in training soon but he will continue to be managed carefully. “He's not training yet,” said Slot. “He constantly gets close to the team then has a setback then gets close then has a little setback.
“We're hoping and expecting to have him very soon again. But that moment in time he trains with us again, he has been out for six, seven, eight months. As much as I'd like to have him back, we have to manage the expectations with him as well.”
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