1 month ago
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Liverpool manager Arne Slot has said Alexander Isak faces "a couple of months" out injured after a "reckless" challenge by Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven.
Isak sustained a fracture to his left leg following a sliding tackle from Van de Ven as he scored for the Reds in a 2-1 win at Spurs.
The Sweden international had an operation on what Liverpool described as "an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture".
"It's going to be a long injury, for a couple of months," said Slot. "It's a big disappointment for him and, as a result, for us."
On Van de Van's challenge, he added: "This was for me a reckless challenge. The tackle of Van de Ven - if you make that tackle 10 times - I think 10 times there is a serious chance that a player gets a serious injury."
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher called the Isak injury a "huge blow" for the Reds but said the tackle from Van de Ven was "a challenge I'd probably make".
"There's a lot been made about a lot of the challenges in the game from Tottenham players and a lot of them weren't clever," Carragher said on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.
"I put myself in Van de Ven's position and that's a challenge I'd probably make.
"He's trying to block it - it's just the follow through. I don't know where else anyone thinks his foot's going to go. He has to make that challenge. You can't let the striker just get a shot away in that situation.
"It's just really bad luck for Isak. It's probably one of the first glimpses we've seen of his real quality in a Liverpool shirt."
Opinions may be influenced by the injury to Isak but it does not have to be the result of foul play - it can simply be an unfortunate consequence.
It is important to look at how Van de Ven makes the challenge, and also how Isak comes to sustain the injury.
As Isak releases the shot, Van de Ven slides in to try to make a block.
Crucially, it is Isak's shooting foot that gets injured after he plants it.
The foot lands between Van de Ven's legs, and that is how the Sweden striker's injury appears to happen.
Had Van de Ven gone through Isak's standing foot or tackled his opponent directly this would have been a different discussion.
But Van de Ven goes to make a block into the space in front of Isak. It was a genuine challenge and should not be seen as a red card.
That does not mean a defender cannot be sent off if they try to stop a shot and clatter into an attacker.
We can look at the double leg fracture sustained by Manchester United's Luke Shaw in a Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven in 2015.
Shaw had burst into the area to take a shot when Hector Moreno crashed into him, taking his standing foot away in a scissors tackle.
It came in the days before VAR, so Moreno did not even concede a penalty let alone get a red card. But it is exactly the kind of blocking tackle which should see a player sent off now.
Van de Ven's challenge, however, appears to be an accidental collision as part of a normal defensive action.
