"Clearly there's not another Alexander Isak, that's obvious." That was the admission of Sweden boss Graham Potter after confirming the Liverpool striker had been forced to withdraw from international duty over the weekend with a minor thigh injury.
"In an ideal world, we want all our players available, but the reality is we don't have Alex for this game," Potter added, ahead of Sweden's 3-1 victory over Poland on Monday night. "Clearly whoever comes in, we're not going to ask them to be Alex. They just need to be themselves in the best way they can."
Potter's frustration at losing Isak for Sweden's upcoming UEFA Nations League games is reflective of the forward's growing importance for both club and country.
A cocktail of poor form and fitness saw the 27-year-old relegated to a largely peripheral figure last term following his British-record £125 million transfer from Newcastle United to Liverpool in summer 2025. However, in the early weeks of the new campaign, Isak has managed to recapture his prolific edge in front of goal, netting five times in eight appearances for Liverpool and Sweden. It makes the prospect of his potential injury layoff all the more concerning for the Reds, who face a punishing schedule of nine games in 29 days upon their return from the international break.
That fellow in-form forward Cody Gakpo has also been forced to return to Liverpool with an ankle problem sustained while playing for Netherlands only compounds the need for Isak to be fit and firing in time for Oct. 11, when Andoni Iraola's side host Manchester City in the Premier League.
Having waited so long for his Anfield career to spark into life, the Sweden international will know better than anyone that he can ill-afford his fine start to the season to be derailed by another injury setback.
"If Alex is fit, he will produce the numbers"
Isak's latest goal for Liverpool felt like a moment of catharsis. After scoring what turned out to be the winner in the Reds' 1-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth on Sept. 20, the striker charged into the away end at the Vitality Stadium -- even earning himself a yellow card for his troubles.
His beaming smile as he celebrated with the travelling Liverpool supporters, though, suggested that he didn't care a jot. Renowned for his composed -- sometimes aloof -- demeanor, Isak's obvious delight on the south coast was indicative of a player who is increasingly beginning to feel like he belongs at Anfield. It is a marked departure from last season, when his early struggles for fitness and subsequent leg fracture left him watching much of the action from the sidelines.
Already this term, the striker's tally of four Premier League goals has surpassed his entire haul from last season (three). After starting just eight league games across the duration of the 2025-26 campaign, he has started all five of the Reds' matches in the competition this season and has completed 90 minutes on three separate occasions, having failed to do so even once last term.
While Iraola recently called on his attacking players to take on more defensive responsibility, Isak's involvement in games has also increased from last season, when he managed just 179 touches across his 14 appearances in the league. By comparison, the striker has had 120 touches in just five appearances this season, with 23 of those coming inside the penalty area. (For comparison, he managed 30 touches in the box in the whole of 2025-26).
The uptick in his performances has coincided with him becoming a more visible presence off the pitch, with both Liverpool and the Premier League featuring him more prominently in their social media output. The terrace chant of "Isak's a Red, Olé, Olé -- coined in the away end during last month's clash with his former club Newcastle at St. James' Park -- is now becoming a staple of the Reds' matchday experience.
"With Alex, if he's fit, if he's available, if he's in good shape, I think he will produce the numbers," Iraola said after Isak's brace against Ipswich Town earlier this month. "My demands with Alex will not be about the goals, probably. It will be about other things, I will demand other things so we can play well; and if we play well, we are in good positions, the goals will come. I think he has to contribute to the collective and when everyone helps ... the other stuff will come."
Iraola's reputation for developing attacking talent was one of the most compelling factors in Liverpool's decision to hire him as Arne Slot's successor this summer. History dictates that Isak thrives when the pressure is on him to take his game to the next level and the hope on Merseyside is that Iraola's demanding approach can help get the best out of him.
"When Alex was about 16, every time he came to our training ground and passed the coaches, he would just say 'Hi,' and then go to the locker room," Peter Wennberg, who coached Isak during his time at boyhood club AIK, told ESPN last year.
"One day when he passed us, I screamed at him to come back. He stood there, and I said: 'Hey, there are seven coaches here all planning for your future, and the only thing you do when you come in is say 'Hi.' Where is the passion?' He said: 'Okay, I hear what you're saying.'
"Then, the next time he came to training, he came to us directly and said 'hey coaches, what have you got planned for me today?' That's typical of Isak. He is driving his future. He is not letting his destiny be in anyone else's hands. He is driving it."
After a tumultuous debut season at Anfield, the striker has certainly looked to be in command of his own destiny this term.
Others may need to step up
No sooner had Liverpool confirmed that Isak would return to the club for further assessment than they found themselves faced with another injury setback. After scoring a late equalizer for Netherlands against Jürgen Klopp's Germany last week, Gakpo's outing against Serbia on Sunday was cut short after he was on the receiving end of a heavy challenge from midfielder Serbia's Sasa Lukic.
"It's his ankle, that's all I know," Netherlands boss Xavi said after the game. "Tomorrow we will know, but hopefully it's not too important."
While there has been no official confirmation of the scale of the injury, there is a chance Gakpo could also miss several weeks of action. It would be a huge blow considering he too has started the season brilliantly.
After coming close to joining Manchester City late in the summer transfer window, the 27-year-old has enjoyed something of a career renaissance at Anfield this term, earning plaudits for his impeccable attitude even in the face of such intense speculation over his future. His performances on the pitch have been commendable too, having managed two goals and four assists in six appearances in all competitions.
Key to his resurgence has been his burgeoning relationship with Isak, for whom he has provided three assists in the Premier League this term.
"It's definitely been successful so far this season, obviously [Gakpo's] assisted all of my goals," Isak told BBC Sport before Liverpool's trip to Bournemouth. "He's a humble, good guy. I'm pleased, we all are pleased (that he stayed), we all know what qualities he has and how it will benefit the team, so of course it's clear that we're really happy with the situation."
Between them, Gakpo and Isak have scored five of Liverpool's seven league goals this season. As such, any absence for either in the coming weeks would be a huge concern for Iraola and would require one of his other attacking players to raise their game.
Summer signing Bradley Barcola is the obvious candidate to provide a creative spark following his initial £106 million move from Paris Saint-Germain. The France forward has been building up his fitness since arriving on Merseyside late in the window, but the expectation on him to deliver will only increase should Isak and Gakpo be unavailable.
Fellow new arrival VÃctor Muñoz has looked a promising talent after joining from Osasuna, but is still getting up to speed with the Premier League, while prodigious 18-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha is yet to score or assist this term. Outside of Liverpool's forward options, No. 10 midfielder Florian Wirtz -- who continues to face scrutiny following a string of ineffectual displays -- could be deployed even higher up the pitch as a false No. 9 in an attempt to add more dynamism to the Reds' attack.
"I think overall we've improved, definitely since the first games," Iraola said before the international break. "Some of the things we still need to improve, more things ... but we still have to get ready because the schedule that we have now, it's very difficult.
"I think we are playing against top-four teams and then in between Champions [League] and then in between Chelsea in the Carabao [Cup] and everything in two, three days. So we have to get ready, because this next month, after this break, it's going be very demanding for us."
Certainly, those demands will be much tougher to navigate if Iraola does not have Isak and Gakpo to call on. With the big games coming thick and fast, Liverpool must hope that both players have a speedy recovery.
