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Liverpool supporters have had to be extremely patient with Alexander Isak after his record-breaking arrival in September.
In truth, it feels like Reds’ fans have been waiting for the Swede to join ever since rumours of a move first surfaced in July.
Although he has made 16 appearances for Liverpool, scoring three goals, Isak‘s career with the Reds is still yet to get going. He does not feel like a Liverpool player.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images/Charlotte Wilson/Offside
While that has been hugely frustrating for everyone connected to the club, there was a positive step this week when Liverpool released photographs of Isak stepping up his training. This was followed by claims from Sweden manager Graham Potter that he was hoping to have the No. 9 available for the March international break.
Assessing those suggestions, journalist David Lynch has confirmed that Isak really does have a realistic chance of being fit to play for Sweden in the last week of next month.
Alexander Isak all set to return in March
Speaking to Anfield Index, Lynch said that although there has been no forward revision done to the initial timeline for Isak, there does not appear to have been any setbacks either.
As a result, he says the 26-year-old is in line to return to the Liverpool squad in March. Mid-March was reportedly the first timescale given, but a difficulty in predicting injuries could actually mean Isak ends up coming back a little sooner – or a little later – than initially expected.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
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“When he first got the injury the talk was, and I heard, that mid-March was the aim for him,” Lynch says. “I’ve not heard anything since, but timelines around injuries are a bit difficult, so he might be a little slower than that, he might be a little bit quicker or whatever.
“March is definitely when we might see him back in a Liverpool shirt or certainly get him in the squad. I think he might be back fit around the international break, or certainly around Liverpool squads, so there’s a good chance he could do that [play for Sweden] if the timeline hasn’t shifted at all. But then the question is, of course, would Liverpool allow him to go having just come back.
“Sweden did them a few solids with Isak in terms of not playing him in games that didn’t matter, so maybe that will influence them a little bit. But I think that’s legitimate, I think he does have a chance for that.”
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Photo credit: Getty Images/Chris Brunskill/Fantasista Which matches will Isak miss?
Liverpool currently have only five more matches in the calendar between now and the March international break.
Those are: Nottingham Forest, West Ham United, Wolves, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton in the Premier League.
However, they will also play in the FA Cup on the weekend of the 7/8th March and two legs in the Champions League last-16 on the 10/11 March.
As a result, Isak could potentially miss as many as eight more Liverpool fixtures.
Taking Lynch’s timeline of mid-March, however, perhaps there is a chance the Sweden international could be ready to face Tottenham on the 15th or, more realistically, Brighton on the 21st.
Either way, there’s not long to wait now before Isak can hopefully kickstart his Liverpool career once and for all.
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