Isak Could Feature vs Man City After 101-Day Absence

One hundred and one days after going under the knife following an ankle and fibula fracture, Alexander Isak has returned to full training at Liverpool. The timing is extraordinary: the club’s record signing could make his comeback in one of the most high-profile domestic knockout ties of the season, an FA Cup quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City on Saturday lunchtime.

Arne Slot, characteristically measured in his assessment, acknowledged on Friday that Isak is in contention to play “a few minutes” against City, though he stopped well short of any firm commitment. The head coach has two training sessions of information to draw on, and the significance of that context cannot be overstated. Nobody returns from a fractured fibula and ankle surgery, with just a couple of days of team work behind them, and slots straight into a knockout fixture against one of English football’s most physically demanding sides.

The injury itself was sustained in the cruellest of circumstances. Isak had just scored against Tottenham in a 2-1 Liverpool win back in December, with Micky van de Ven’s challenge fracturing his fibula and causing the ankle damage that required surgery. It ended what had been a short but promising spell in a Liverpool shirt: three goals in 16 appearances, a return that already felt frustratingly modest given the fee involved and the talent on display. For context, that tally included games in which Isak was still building match sharpness after joining in September without a pre-season, so the underlying quality was often clearer to the eye than the numbers suggested.

The Extra Time Dilemma

The particular challenge facing Slot is one that does not arise in a standard league fixture. An FA Cup quarter-final can go to extra time and, if necessary, penalties. That changes the calculation around a late substitute appearance significantly. Bringing Isak on for ten minutes in normal time and then watching the game tip into an additional thirty is a risk no responsible manager would take lightly when the player concerned has done less than a week of full training after a major operation.

Slot addressed this directly, noting that the possibility of extra time makes the decision “even more complicated.” It is a candid admission that even a brief involvement is far from straightforward to manage. A player returning from a fibula fracture needs not just muscular readiness but the reactive load tolerance that only competitive minutes can truly replicate, and that cannot be compressed into two training sessions. Liverpool’s medical and coaching staff will have spent considerable time this week stress-testing Isak’s readiness, and the final call may well rest on how the 26-year-old feels physically after Friday’s session rather than on any predetermined plan. Slot confirmed as much, saying the decision would partly depend on how Isak feels about the situation himself.

A Player Arriving in Better Shape Than Before

One of the more striking observations Slot made on Friday concerned the physical condition Isak finds himself in now compared to when he arrived at Anfield. The Sweden international’s summer was consumed by an extended transfer saga involving Newcastle United, and he eventually completed his move in September, meaning he joined the club without a pre-season behind him. That lack of base fitness affected his integration, and the injury arrived before he had truly found his stride.

Slot’s assessment was pointed: he described Isak as looking “much stronger, physically in a much better place” than he was before the injury. That is an unusual thing to say about a player returning from four months of rehabilitation, but it reflects the structured conditioning work Isak has clearly undertaken during his recovery. It also suggests that the enforced absence, for all its frustration, may have given Liverpool’s sports science staff the uninterrupted time with Isak that a busy fixture schedule would never have allowed. Slot went further, suggesting that next season, when Isak has a full pre-season with the club, Liverpool can “expect more from him” than has been seen so far. The implication is clear: the version of Isak that Liverpool signed for a British record fee has not yet been fully seen.

Salah’s Farewell Season Reaches a Pivotal Weekend

While the Isak story dominates the injury bulletin, the wider context of Saturday’s fixture is shaped significantly by Mohamed Salah. The Egypt forward confirmed this week that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, bringing down the curtain on nine years at Anfield. His trophy haul in that time reads like a wishlist: two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the Super Cup and two League Cups. He is fit to face Manchester City and could make his first appearance since that announcement.

The question of whether Salah’s impending departure might serve as added motivation drew a thoughtful response from Slot. The head coach’s position was essentially that Salah has never needed external circumstances to produce his best, and that a shift in his contractual situation is unlikely to change that in either direction. It is a fair point, and one grounded in observable history. Salah has been Liverpool’s most consistent performer for the better part of a decade, and his standards have rarely wavered regardless of what has been happening off the pitch. That consistency is precisely why the debate about motivation feels slightly beside the point: his performances have been high-calibre even in seasons where his future was uncertain.

Alisson’s Continued Absence and Its Implications

The other significant team news ahead of the Etihad trip is that first-choice goalkeeper Alisson remains unavailable. Slot confirmed on Friday that he does not expect the Brazilian international to return until “towards the end of the season,” which means Liverpool will again be relying on their deputy between the sticks for a fixture of this magnitude. Losing a goalkeeper of Alisson’s calibre for the better part of a season’s second half is not simply a positional problem; it removes one of the game’s better shot-stoppers and a significant organising presence from Liverpool’s defensive structure. It is a limitation Slot has navigated throughout a substantial portion of the campaign, and it remains one of the more consequential absences in the squad.

Taken together, the goalkeeping situation and the managed return of Isak paint a picture of a Liverpool side that has had to adapt considerably during the second half of the season. That they remain competitive across multiple fronts, including an FA Cup quarter-final away to City, speaks to the depth and organisation Slot has instilled. But Saturday will test that resilience again at the most unforgiving of venues.

Verdict: A Cameo With Consequences Either Way

Whether Isak actually steps onto the Etihad pitch on Saturday almost feels secondary to what his return represents for Liverpool’s remaining weeks. The arrival of a fully fit, fully conditioned version of a striker who cost £125 million changes the dynamic of Liverpool’s forward options at precisely the point in the season when those options matter most. Even a brief appearance would mark the beginning of a reintegration that could prove decisive in whatever trophy pursuits remain alive.

The FA Cup tie itself carries enormous weight. A place in the semi-finals at Wembley awaits the winner, and Liverpool travel to Manchester as a side capable of winning at the Etihad in any format. The extra-time variable Slot mentioned is not merely a technical consideration for squad management; it also hints at his expectation that this will be a closely contested match where every decision about personnel will matter.

If Isak comes off the bench and influences proceedings, it will be one of the more remarkable cameos in a Liverpool shirt. If Slot decides the risk is not worth taking, then the watching brief continues, and the full unveiling of the striker Liverpool actually paid for gets pushed back a little further. Either way, a player who has been absent since mid-December is finally back in the conversation, and that alone shifts the mood around Anfield heading into the final stretch of the season.

Sources: Match preview information and direct quotes sourced from BBC Sport’s coverage of Arne Slot’s pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool versus Manchester City, published 2 April 2026.