Newcastle United villain Alexander Isak has returned to training with Liverpool.
The Swedish international forced through his £130million British record transfer to Anfield last summer by going on strike at Newcastle United.
Months earlier, Isak scored against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final to help secure the Magpies’ first domestic trophy in 70 years. He announced himself as a hero but left as a villain.
Newcastle fans have taken comfort from the fact that Isak has yet to hit the ground running on Merseyside. The 26-year-old managed just three goals in 16 appearances before sustaining an ankle injury in December that included a fibula fracture.
Alexander Isak returns to Liverpool training
But Isak could still have a big say on Liverpool’s season as he prepares to play a part in the remaining two months. And that could begin on Saturday, as Arne Slot’s side visit Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
"I think Alex is in a really good place because Sweden qualified for the World Cup yesterday evening and apart from that he's going to train with the group again for the first time tomorrow [Thursday],” Slot told the club’s website.
"If you've worked so hard for three, four months or something like that and then to return to team training, that's for everyone very nice. So Alex is, in that sense, in a good place.
"Of course it's only his first session, after three or four months [out], with the team but it's good to have him back because we all know who we signed and we've signed an incredible striker.
"So to have him again in a team that's usually generating quite a lot of chances – and maybe not immediately from the first moment that he can start – but to have him back for the last two months is, I think, very helpful for us."
Slot’s men still have plenty to play for after advancing into the quarter-finals of the Champions League and FA Cup, while in the Premier League, the race for European qualification remains wide open.
Neither Isak nor Liverpool will face Newcastle in the closing stages of the campaign, as the two clubs have already met twice in the league this season.
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