Arne Slot talks injuries before the Burnley clash (Credits: Imago Images)
The English Premier League returns tomorrow after the international break that spanned over nine days. It will kick off with Arsenal facing Nottingham Forest, but Liverpool won’t see the pitch until the day after tomorrow as the Reds travel further north to face Burnley at Turf Moor.
Arne Slot had a press conference before the clash, as the manager talked about injuries and how he is going to handle Alexander Isak.
“Don’t expect him to be every single game 90 minutes on the pitch. That’s definitely not going to happen for the next few weeks”, he explained about Isak.
“He missed a proper pre-season. I think he missed three or four months of team sessions, so now we have to build him up gradually, with us playing so many games and hardly any training time.”
“That is going to be a challenge, but we have not just signed him for the upcoming two weeks; we have signed him for six years, so this is what we have to keep in mind.”
The Dutch manager also mentioned how international managers handled their players in the small window of multiple games.
“We’re happy that they are fit. Again, not only a compliment to the Sweden manager but also to the others. A few others, like Ryan Gravenberch, only started one game and not both of them.”
Quiz: Can you name the team Liverpool signed these players from?
[freshpress-quiz id=”22938″]
Arne Slot confirms Curtis Jones’ injury
The Dutch manager also confirmed Curtis Jones’ injury. Even though the Englishman hadn’t been a part of the international squad but he was injured during the Arsenal game.
“Curtis Jones, I don’t know if you knew, but he got injured in the last game, so he will not be available for the game against Burnley.”
“But I think the rest of them all came back without a problem, and that is not always the situation, especially at the beginning of the season, where everybody comes from a different background, goes to the national team, where they all of a sudden have to play two games in four or five days.”
“It’s always the biggest risk in November and October. In March, they are much more used to that program”, Slot told the press.
Jones will be the only player who’ll miss the Burnley clash. However, the Englishman will return for the Reds’ UEFA Champions League clash against Atlético de Madrid.
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