Liverpool head coach Arne Slot described the tackle from Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven that broke Alexander Isak's leg as "irresponsible." Isak was injured in the penalty area by a heavy challenge from Van de Ven while scoring the opening goal in Liverpool's 2-1 win over Spurs on Saturday. Thomas Frank's side played with nine men after Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero were sent off in the capital, but Van de Ven's tackle went unpunished. Isak underwent successful surgery on a broken ankle and fibula on Monday, and Slot said he is expected to be out for several months. The Liverpool manager said:
"Most of the injuries we are having have nothing to do with overload. If you look at Alex's injury, it has nothing to do with player overload. Same for Wataru Endo."
"Of course, there are one or two injuries that could be due to overload. Cody Gakpo has a muscle issue, and so does Joe Gomez. But yes, that was an irresponsible tackle."
"I've seen many tackles like Xavi Simons', and in my view, those are unintentional. I don't think you'd ever get injured by that kind of tackle."
"But a tackle like the one Van de Ven made—if you make that tackle 10 times, you're going to seriously injure the opponent 10 times."
"Fans are absolutely fuming over Van de Ven's 'scissor tackle' habit, calling him a career-ender and comparing the situation to Luke Shaw's infamous injury. They're calling for stricter rules on reckless body-weight challenges that force attackers into a 'dodge or get broken' dilemma."
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