By OkayGoal
Liverpool have been handed a major fitness concern ahead of their blockbuster Premier League clash with Manchester City after Alexander Isak withdrew from the Sweden squad with an injury.
The Swedish Football Association confirmed on Sunday that the 27-year-old striker will miss his country’s three remaining Nations League group-stage fixtures and has returned to Merseyside for assessment.
In-form Isak had been on the scoresheet on Friday night, netting in Sweden’s 2-1 victory over Romania before suffering the muscular setback.
He will now sit out Monday’s encounter with Poland, as well as upcoming group games against Bosnia & Herzegovina and the reverse fixture with Romania.
Burnley centre-back Hjalmar Ekdal has also left the camp with a knock, with Sweden confirming that no replacements have been summoned.
The timing poses an unwanted headache for Liverpool, especially given the blistering form Isak has shown since the start of the campaign. The Sweden international, who completed a £125m move to Anfield from Newcastle United last summer, currently sits second in the Premier League scoring charts with four goals in five matches.
Isak opened his account for the season at Anfield against Nottingham Forest before bagging a decisive brace away at Ipswich Town, followed by another crucial match-winner on the road against Bournemouth.
Neither Liverpool nor Sweden have disclosed the exact nature or severity of the problem, but the Reds will be desperate to have their primary marksman back ahead of a demanding run of games.
Liverpool return to action after the international break on October 11 when they host reigning champions Manchester City in a titanic clash at Anfield, before a swift European turnaround away to Austrian side LASK in the Champions League three days later.
That precedes a trip to Brentford, a home clash against Villarreal, and a league meeting with Brighton as the autumn schedule ramps up.