Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has described the challenge from Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven which broke Alexander Isak‘s leg as “reckless.”
Isak was injured in the process of scoring Liverpool’s opening goal in their 2-1 win over Spurs against Spurs on Saturday, with Van de Van sliding in with a heavy challenge inside the penalty area.
Thomas Frank’s side were reduced to nine men in the capital following red cards to Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero, though Van de Ven’s tackle went unpunished.
Isak successfully underwent surgery on a broken ankle and fibula on Monday, and Slot said he is expected to be sidelined for “a couple of months.”
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“The most injuries we have are not related to overloading,” the Liverpool boss said. “When you look at Alex’s injury, it has nothing to do with overloading the player. It’s the same with Wataru Endo.
“Of course, there are one or two that might have to do with overloading — Cody Gakpo has a muscle and the same with Joe Gomez. Yeah, [Isak’s injury] was a reckless challenge. I’ve said a lot about the tackle of Xavi Simons, which for me was completely unintentional. I don’t think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that.
“But the tackle of Van de Ven, if you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a chance the player gets a serious injury.”
