Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Friday, February 20, 2026 9:09 p.m. / Updated Friday, February 20, 2026 9:10 p.m.
Arne Slot (47), Liverpool's coach, is confident that striker Alexander Isak (26), the most expensive transfer in the club's history, will be fit again at the end of March at the latest.
The Swedish footballer suffered a serious injury, a fractured fibula, during the match against Tottenham on December 20. Exactly two months after that moment, coach Arne Slot revealed when Isak should be fit to play.
Arne Slot announced when Alexander Isak will return
“Alex is back on the pitch, not in football boots but running shoes, for the first time this week. It's good for him to be back on the pitch and it's a joy for us to see him here, but there is still a lot of work to do when you reach the final stages of recovery.
As long as you're in the weight room and not on the field, it's not the most enjoyable part. The next step is to work with the ball, which is what every player likes the most.
Then he will have to join the party and it will take a while before he is ready to play. But it is gratifying that his recovery is going well – it's a compliment to him and to our medical staff,” the Dutch coach said.
Arne Slot: “We hope they will see the best Alex this season”
With no summer training to boot, training on his own to force his way out of Newcastle, Isak needed a good few weeks to find his bearings at the new team.
The Swede contributed just 3 goals in 16 appearances before getting injured, but Arne Slot remains hopeful that the champions' supporters will see the best of him this season:
“We expect a different player towards the end of the season compared to the one we had in the first part. It makes sense, because we have said a hundred times that we have to give him time. If a player has had four or five months of individual training, we cannot expect him to be at full capacity immediately
Unfortunately for him and for us, we haven't had the best of Alex yet, but this club and our fans will hopefully see the best of Alex this season, but certainly in the years to come.”
Questioned later on whether Isak will be fit for action around March international breakSlot replied with a joke: “Are you asking this for the Sweden coach?”.
“It will be sometime around that timebut there is always the possibility that things will go very well or suffer a small setback. It will be around the end of March, beginning of April when we hope he will be back with the group.
When you're back training with the team, it doesn't mean you're ready to play, let alone start, because, again, he was out for months. The last time he was out for a long period, we could all see that it took him a while to get back to the player we signed from Newcastle,” added the Liverpool manager.
