Reds fear long Isak lay-off after major blow for Arne Slot

Latest: Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Connor Bradley

Liverpool will look to continue their upward trajectory when they play Wolves after Christmas.

The Reds appear to have steadied the ship after a rocky spell, with victory over Tottenham on Saturday marking the first time they have won back-to-back Premier League matches since September.

Liverpool will be heavy favourites to pick up another three points when they play rock-bottom Wolves on December 27, as they bid to close the distance to Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa at the top of the table.

But their 2-1 win over nine-man Tottenham came at a cost with as many as three new injury concerns emerging from their trip to the north London.

Alexander Isak is the biggest worry after being injured in the process of breaking the deadlock at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With that in mind, here is the latest Liverpool injury news and return dates…

Alexander Isak

Isak lasted just 11 minutes after coming on as a substitute against Tottenham. He sustained an injury after being caught by Micky van de Ven in the act of giving Liverpool a 1-0 lead.

Isak was not able celebrate his third goal of the season and, after receiving lengthy treatment, was carried off the pitch with the help of Liverpool’s medical staff.

Slot said afterwards that it was “not a good thing” that Isak could not continue and Liverpool fear the £125million signing has fractured his left leg..

Liverpool are waiting for the results of MRI scans before confirming whether or not Isak has suffered a fracture.

But there are concerns that Isak will face a lengthy period on the sidelines. If Liverpool’s worst fears are confirmed then the striker could be out for months.

Potential return date: Unknown

Injury worry: Alexander Isak was forced off at Tottenham

Conor Bradley

Conor Bradley made his return to the Liverpool side at Spurs after missing the win over Brighton.

But the right-back had to be replaced at half-time as he appeared to tweak his hamstring while chasing Djed Spence when the Spurs defender pushed forward.

Slot said: “With Alex and with Conor, we have to wait. You could see our bench today but this is not the first time. We are not the only team that suffers injuries in this period in England because we play so many games.

“It is quite normal that teams pick up injuries at this time. We’re still picking up points and that is the main thing.”

Slot will be hopeful Bradley’s injury is not too serious.

Potential return date: Unknown

Florian Wirtz

The third Liverpool injury worry to emerge from the win over Tottenham was Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz claimed an assist for Isak’s goal but was spotted rubbing his hamstring before making way for youngster Trey Nyoni as the visitors ran down the clock.

There was not much of an update on the German playmaker after game, and his substitution appeared to be precautionary as the Reds are already light in the attacking department.

Potential return date: Saturday, December 27 vs Wolves (H)

Jeremie Frimpong

Jeremie Frimpong made his first appearance in two months as he returned from injury as a 60th-minute substitute at Spurs.

He was then substituted himself in the 89th minute after going down, but Slot allayed any fresh injury fears.

“No there is no problem at all,” he said. “I did not want to go down for 30 seconds.”

Potential return date: Saturday, December 27 vs Wolves (H)

Cody Gakpo

Cody Gakpo has now missed Liverpool’s last three games in all competitions with a muscle injury sustained in the 3-3 draw against Leeds.

But, speaking ahead of the Spurs, game Slot confirmed Gakpo is making good progress and could be back earlier than expected.

“He [Gakpo] had a scan that looked promising so that means that we are not that worried anymore, as we were maybe one or two weeks ago.

“So that means he might come back a bit earlier than expected two weeks ago, but that’s definitely not tomorrow and also not next week.

Potential return date: Late December/early January

Positive news: Cody Gakpo

Joe Gomez

Joe Gomez started in Liverpool’s win over Brighton but lasted just 26 minutes before coming off injured.

He went down off the ball and briefly received treatment before hobbling off with the club’s trainers.

It is yet another blow for the player, who has been injury-prone throughout his career and has already missed long stretches of this campaign.

Speaking on Friday, Slot said: “Joe is not in the squad as well for the weekend.”

Potential return date: Unknown

Wataru Endo

Wataru Endo’s injury was revealed in a double update alongside Gakpo.

Endo may only be a bit-part player for Liverpool this season, but as injuries mount he could have provided a useful depth option for Slot.

Unfortunately, it was confirmed ahead of the Brighton match that the Japan international had sustained an ankle injury, and would be out for a matter of weeks.

Slot said: “It’s going to be weeks [for Gakpo and Endo]. Cody has a muscle injury, and Wata has an ankle injury.”

Potential return date: January 2026

Giovanni Leoni

Giovanni Leoni suffered an ACL injury on Liverpool debut in the Carabao Cup third-round win over Southampton and is expected to be out for the remainder of the season.

“He is not in a good place, of course, because he tore his ACL and it means he will be out for a year,” Slot said of the young Italian. “Being so young and coming to a new country and playing so well in your first game… it’s very hard to take the positive side.

“There’s never a positive side – but you always try to look at a positive side and that is that he is still so young, so he has so many years still to go after he recovers from a terrible injury like that.”

Potential return date: Autumn 2026