Liverpool's Alexander Isak sidelined for two months after 'reckless' tackle, Slot says

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool striker Alexander Isak will be laid up for two months with a broken ankle and fibula from a tackle that coach Arne Slot described as reckless on Tuesday.

Isak had surgery on Monday, two days after he was injured in the act of scoring the opening goal of a 2-1 win over Tottenham in the Premier League.

“It's going to be a long injury, for a couple of months,” Slot said. "It's a big disappointment for him and, as a result, for us.

"This was, for me, a reckless challenge. I've said a lot about the tackle of Xavi Simons (who was sent off for dragging his studs down the calf of Virgil van Dijk in the same game) which for me was completely unintentional.

“I don't think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that. But the tackle of (Micky) van de Ven (on Isak), if you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury.”

Van de Ven slid into Isak and trapped his shooting foot just after he'd shot.

TV analyst and Liverpool great Jamie Carragher defended Van de Ven.

“There's a lot been made about a lot of the challenges in the game from Tottenham players and a lot of them weren't clever,” Carragher told Sky Sports on Monday.

"I've put myself in Van de Ven's position and that's a challenge I'd probably make. He's trying to block it, it's just the follow through. I don't know where else anyone thinks his foot's going to go. He has to make that challenge. You can't let the striker just get a shot away there in that situation.

“It's just really bad luck for Isak. It's probably one of the first glimpses we've seen of his real quality in a Liverpool shirt.”

Slot was doubly disappointed for Isak because the Sweden international was just getting up to speed.

The $170 million British record signing didn't have a preseason because of his dispute with Newcastle then his fitness was set back by a groin injury in October.

Liverpool was patiently building him up and he'd started five of the last nine games but Slot, who expects Isak back before the end of the season, doesn't believe he'll be as sharp as he was last season for Newcastle.

“It's been a really challenging and difficult period for him. Usually when you join a new club — he was very excited as well — you want to show all the qualities you have but that was simply impossible,” Slot said.

"Maybe no one understands but if you haven't trained on a serious level for three or four months with the team and you are playing in this league you have to be on top of your game to impact a game of football.

“That took months because there was no preseason, just games, games, games and hardly any time to train. We all knew it would take him time and that's why he is so unlucky he is now injured because we all saw with his goal against West Ham and with this goal (against Tottenham) he gets closer and closer to the player he was last season at Newcastle.”

Liverpool's Alexander Isak, left, grimaces as he picks up an injury in a challenge from Tottenham's Micky van de Ven as he scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham and Liverpool in London, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Liverpool's Alexander Isak, top, scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham and Liverpool in London, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Liverpool's Alexander Isak, top, scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham and Liverpool in London, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

JERUSALEM (AP) — A former close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately following the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, the Israeli leader instructed him to figure out how the premier could evade responsibility for the security breach.

Former Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein, who faces trial for allegedly leaking classified information to the press, made the explosive accusation during an extensive interview with Israel’s Kan news channel Monday night.

Critics have repeatedly accused Netanyahu of refusing to accept blame for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. But little is known about Netanyahu’s behavior in the days immediately following the attack, while the premier has consistently resisted an independent state inquiry.

Speaking to Kan, Feldstein said “the first task” he received from Netanyahu after Oct. 7, 2023, was to stifle calls for accountability.

“He asked me, ‘What are they talking about in the news? Are they still talking about responsibility?’” Feldstein said. “He wanted me to think of something that could be said that would offset the media storm surrounding the question of whether the prime minister had taken responsibility or not.”

He added that Netanyahu looked “panicked” when he made the request. Feldstein said he was later told by people in Netanyahu's close circle to omit the word “responsibility” from all statements.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 hostages back to Gaza. Israel then launched a devastating war in Gaza that has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.

Netanyahu’s office called the interview a “long series of mendacious and recycled allegations made by a man with clear personal interests who is trying to deflect responsibility from himself,” Hebrew media reported.

Feldstein’s statements come after his indictment in a case where he is accused of leaking classified military information to a German tabloid to improve public perception of the prime minister following the killing of six hostages in Gaza in August of last year.

Feldstein is also a suspect in the “Qatargate” scandal, one of two close aides to Netanyahu accused of accepting money from Qatar while also working for the prime minister.

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adjusts the headphones during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Jerusalem Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, Pool, File)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, Monday Dec. 22, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)