SOCCER: Liverpool striker Isak suffers broken leg

Liverpool striker Alexander Isak has undergone surgery after breaking his leg, the Premier League club said on Monday.

Isak sustained the injury while scoring Liverpool’s opening goal in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. His foot became trapped between the legs of defender Micky van de Ven as the Dutch international slid in to block the shot.

“Alexander Isak today successfully underwent surgery on the injury he sustained on Saturday,” Liverpool said in a statement. “Following diagnosis, an operation was completed on an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture. No time frame has yet been placed on his return.”

Liverpool shattered the British transfer record in September by signing the 26-year-old Sweden international for £125 million ($168 million). The move came after Isak made it clear he wanted to leave Newcastle United and was subsequently frozen out of the squad.

Isak scored 54 Premier League goals in 86 appearances for Newcastle before completing his switch to Anfield. He made his Liverpool debut against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League after a lack of match fitness ruled him out of the club’s first league game following his arrival.

The forward has struggled to find consistency in a Liverpool side that has failed to replicate last season’s title-winning form. He has scored just two league goals in 10 appearances so far.

Isak netted his first goal for the club in a League Cup victory over Southampton in September but has not scored in five Champions League appearances.

Liverpool, currently fifth in the league standings and 10 points behind leaders Arsenal, were already without Mohamed Salah, who is on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt.

The club will now rely heavily on striker Hugo Ekitike, another recent signing who has scored eight league goals, including five in his last three matches. Liverpool may also look to strengthen in the January transfer window, with Salah’s long-term future at the club uncertain.

($1 = 0.7432 pounds)

— Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Ed Osmond/Reuters