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Arne Slot has faced challenge after challenge this season, from <\/b>Liverpool<\/b><\/a>‘s horrid run of nine defeats in 12 to Mohamed Salah’s explosive interview at <\/b>Leeds<\/b><\/a>. <\/b><\/p>\n How Slot deals without Alexander Isak is the next big question.<\/p>\n The Swede has hardly had a flying start to life at Anfield since making the \u00a3125m move from Newcastle<\/a> in the summer, but the movement and finish for his goal against Tottenham<\/a> on Saturday showed exactly why Liverpool<\/a> signed him. <\/p>\n “You need to be at the top of the game to impact a game. And it took months before we could bring him up. We always knew it would take him time. And that’s why it’s so unlucky that he’s now injured,” said Slot. <\/p>\n “We all saw he was getting closer and closer to the player that he was last season at Newcastle<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Slot said it is a “long injury” and Isak would be out for “a couple of months” and that is probably the best case scenario for Liverpool<\/a>. It will, in all likelihood, be March by the time Isak can play football again. <\/p>\n It remains to be seen whether Liverpool<\/a> will make a move for another attacker in January, with expensive solutions to short-term problems not part of the club model.<\/p>\n Hugo Ekitike is also thriving with eight league goals this season, with Slot saying the 23-year-old has “already adapted to the Premier League.”<\/p>\n Asked about the possibility of recalling Harvey Elliott – who hasn’t played since October – from Aston Villa<\/a>, Slot said: “Harvey is an Aston Villa<\/a> player and he is supposed to be going there for a year. If the question is about him then the best thing to ask is at Villa, who are doing quite well by the way.”<\/p>\n Isak has only made 10 starts for Liverpool<\/a> since signing but with him now out of contention and Salah away on duty at the African Cup of Nations, Slot may be forced into a tactical restructure to deal with the Swede’s absence. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n