The international break often brings a sense of unease for Premier League managers, as players travel globally to play for their national teams. The hope is always that they return fit and ready for the resumption of domestic football.
This is no different for Arne Slot and Liverpool, who entered the international break on a high, having won all three of their opening games of the season. Their latest victory was a 1-0 triumph over Arsenal, with Dominik Szoboszlai’s second-half free kick proving decisive.
However, the match did raise an injury worry as defender Ibrahima Konate had to leave the pitch in the final moments. Despite this, Konate was selected for the French squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland, and played in Friday night’s match in what is a boost to Liverpool.
Another concern is full-back Jeremie Frimpong, who has been sidelined for the last two matches due to injury. Slot has confirmed that the full-back will be out for two to three weeks, meaning he could potentially make his comeback against Burnley.
Frimpong remained with Liverpool instead of joining the Netherlands squad. During his stay, he was one of the first to greet new recruit Alexander Isak upon his arrival at the club on Monday.
The forward finalised his £125 million transfer from Newcastle on deadline day, but had little time to familiarise himself with his new environment before flying out to join the Sweden team. Amid rumours surrounding his future, Isak has not yet played this season and his pre-season was disrupted by training separately from the main Newcastle squad.
This means Liverpool will need to handle his integration carefully. Isak was left on the bench during Sweden’s 2-2 draw with Slovenia on Friday night.
Explaining his decision, Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson told Viaplay: “He had only done three training sessions with the team.
“No pre-season with the team and of course no playing time. The risk is probably a bit too great to use him today.”
When questioned about whether Isak would play in Monday’s match against Kosovo, Tomasson responded: “Hopefully, hopefully. As a game-changer.”