LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Alexander Isak's expected return to team training on Thursday comes at a good time for both Liverpool and Sweden.
The striker has recovered from a broken ankle and fibula with Liverpool chasing a Champions League spot and Sweden celebrating qualification to the World Cup.
Isak needed surgery to repair injuries sustained from an opponent's tackle during a Dec. 20 game against Tottenham.
“To have him again in a team that’s usually generating quite a lot chances — and maybe not immediately from the first moment that he can start — but to have him back for the last two months is, I think, very helpful for us," Liverpool coach Arne Slot told club media Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Isak joined Liverpool on a British-record fee of $170 million after protracted negotiations with Newcastle at the end of last summer's transfer window.
Slot's team is in fifth place in the Premier League. It plays at Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday before traveling to face Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Slot added: “Alex is in a really good place because Sweden qualified for the World Cup yesterday evening and apart from that he’s going to train with the group again for the first time tomorrow."
Sweden was one of the last teams to qualify for this summer's World Cup. The Swedes clinched their spot Tuesday with a 3-2 win over Poland in a European playoff final.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Sweden's Alexander Isak celebrates after the Euro 2020 group F qualifying soccer match between Romania and Sweden on the National Arena stadium in Bucharest, Romania, Nov. 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Liverpool's Alexander Isak, top, scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham and Liverpool in London, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton, File)
MIAMI (AP) — Sandy Alcantara threw the first complete game of the MLB season in a 93-pitch shutout to lead the Miami Marlins over the Chicago White Sox 10-0 on Wednesday.
It was Alcantara’s second career shutout with fewer than 100 pitches, known as a “Maddux” in honor of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. It was his 13th career complete game.
Liam Hicks homered, had two singles and drove in four runs to increase his major league-leading count of RBIs to 12. Otto López also went deep and Graham Pauley doubled twice for the Marlins, who ended the homestand 5-1, their best start since 2020.
After a dominant outing against Colorado in the season-opener, Alcantara (2-0) extended his scoreless streak to 15 innings. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner struck out seven, scattered three singles and hit a batter.
The Marlins struck quickly against White Sox starter Shane Smith with a four-run first. Hicks hit an RBI single and Connor Norby followed with a run-scoring double. They both scored on Owen Caissie’s single.
Hicks made it 6-0 with a two-run blast in the second. He drove Smith’s slider over the wall in right for his third homer.
Javier Sanoja’s two-RBI single in the third padded the lead.
Miami added two runs late when Hicks hit an RBI single in the sixth and López connected off White Sox reliever Jordan Leasure in the eighth.
Smith (0-2) lasted three innings, giving up eight runs and seven hits. In his first two starts of the season, Smith has allowed 12 runs and 15 hits over 4 2/3 innings.
White Sox: RHP Sean Burke (0-1. 6.75) will start Chicago’s home opener against Toronto on Thursday. RHP Dylan Cease (0-0, 1.69) will start for the Blue Jays.
Marlins: RHP Eury Pérez (0-0, 3.86) will start the opener of a three-game series at the New York Yankees. LHP Ryan Weathers (0-0, 3.86) will start for the Yankees in their home opener.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Miami Marlins third baseman Javier Sanoja makes a throw to first to get out Chicago White Sox' Chase Meidroth during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Marlins Otto Lopez hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara reacts cooly after pitching a complete game shut out baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough, right, embraces starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara after he pitched the entirety of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
