Isak returning to team training in boost for Liverpool, Sweden

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Alexander Isak’s expected return to team training on Thursday comes at a good time for both Liverpool and Sweden.

The striker has recovered from a broken ankle and fibula with Liverpool chasing a Champions League spot and Sweden celebrating qualification to the World Cup.

Isak needed surgery to repair injuries sustained from an opponent’s tackle during a Dec. 20 game against Tottenham.

“To have him again in a team that’s usually generating quite a lot chances — and maybe not immediately from the first moment that he can start — but to have him back for the last two months is, I think, very helpful for us,” Liverpool coach Arne Slot told club media Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Isak joined Liverpool on a British-record fee of $170 million after protracted negotiations with Newcastle at the end of last summer’s transfer window.

Slot’s team is in fifth place in the Premier League. It plays at Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday before traveling to face Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Slot added: “Alex is in a really good place because Sweden qualified for the World Cup yesterday evening and apart from that he’s going to train with the group again for the first time tomorrow.”

Sweden was one of the last teams to qualify for this summer’s World Cup. The Swedes clinched their spot Tuesday with a 3-2 win over Poland in a European playoff final.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer