Sweden head coach Graham Potter has offered an injury update on Liverpool striker Alexander Isak
Sweden head coach Graham Potter and striker Alexander Isak
Sweden head coach Graham Potter and striker Alexander Isak(Image: Getty Images)
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Graham Potter has offered an update on Alexander Isak as the Sweden manager revealed the Liverpool striker had suffered a thigh injury after withdrawing from international duty.
The 27-year-old opened the scoring for Sweden in their 2-1 victory over Romania in the Nations League as he continued his strong start to the season. However, he was seen suffering with a bloodied toe following the game after being on the receiving end of a stamp in the match.
Isak would play down the severity of the issue following the game, but was confirmed to have withdrawn from the Sweden camp on Sunday morning.
In an official club statement, Liverpool revealed that the forward had suffered a ‘minor injury’ and would return to the AXA Training Centre for assessment from club staff.
Potter has now offered clarification on Isak’s situation, revealing he had actually been forced to withdraw because of a thigh issue.
And while the Sweden boss played down the severity of the injury, he admitted his frustration at the lay-off - having previously admitted he intended to select Isak in all four Nations League matches during the extended September/October international break.
“He’s got a small problem with his thigh,” Potter said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Sweden’s clash with Poland. “It’s not a big one but because of the amount of games we’ve got in a small space of time, he won’t be able to make those.
“Not a big one but it's frustrating for him and obviously for us. It is what it is but we move forward with the players we have.
“It was during the game. Like anything, you sometimes get bumps and bruises in the game, you might think it’s a bit of a dead leg or something. But actually as the 24 hours, 48 hours after the game, not quite what you think.
“Unfortunately after getting it checked out, it’s a little bit more than what you think during the match. He has to miss the rest of the camp.
“Our medical team has been in contact with the club. Obviously it’s our decision in the first place because of his status, in terms of his injury. Once that’s the case, we have to inform everybody. That’s just normal.
“We’ve got a really big squad that we believe in. Clearly there’s not another Alexander Isak, that’s obvious.
“In an ideal world, we want all our players available but the reality is we don’t have Alex for this game… clearly whoever comes in, we’re not going to ask them to be Alex. They just need to be themselves in the best way they can.”