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Alexander Isak is set to miss Sweden’s remaining three Nations League group fixtures with a minor injury and will return to Liverpool, the Swedish Football Association said.
“He’s got a small problem with his thigh. It’s not a big one but because of the amount of games we’ve got in a small space of time, he won’t be able to make those,” Swedish coach Graham Potter told reporters on Sunday.
The English coach described the setback as frustrating for the 27-year-old striker, who scored in Sweden’s 2-1 win over Romania on Friday.
Sweden host Poland on Monday before taking on Bosnia & Herzegovina and Romania. Liverpool are next in action against Manchester City at Anfield on 11 October.
Isak, 27, joined Liverpool from Newcastle United last year for a £125 million transfer fee and is the Premier League’s second-highest scorer this season, netting four goals in five games one behind City striker Erling Haaland.
Potter stated Isak was injured during the win against Romania, having scored in the 20th minute before picking up the knock.
“Sometimes you get bumps and bruises in the game, you might think it’s a bit of a dead leg or something, but actually as the 24 hours, 48 hours after the game, it’s not quite what you think,” Potter said.
Sweden centre back Hjalmar Ekdal, of English Championship club Burnley, has also left the camp with a minor injury.
“No replacements have been called up at this time,” Sweden said in a statement.
Isak struggled badly with injuries last season, missing around four months of action after fracturing his leg in December.
He was restricted to just 22 appearances across all competitions and only scored four goals as his maiden campaign at Anfield failed to go to plan.
However, he has started this season strongly, scoring twice in a 2-0 win over Ipswich earlier this month. He has also scored against Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth to keep Liverpool unbeaten in their opening five league matches.
The Reds are set to take on City, the only team with a 100% Premier League record, after the international break, and will hope Isak is fit to take his place in the starting line-up.
