Tuesday’s briefing: Alexander Isak faces extended spell out with fractured ankle

Liverpool’s difficult campaign took a turn for the worse on Monday night when the club confirmed record signing Alexander Isak had suffered a fractured ankle.

In Scotland, Celtic’s players are anxious to spring to the defence of new boss Wilfried Nancy after he snapped his four-match losing streak with victory over Aberdeen at the weekend.

Serie A has scrapped a projected match in Western Australia due to a lack of financial guarantees, while Fulham boss Marco Silva was satisfied with his side’s hard-fought Premier League win over Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool confirm Alexander Isak injury

Liverpool striker Isak fractured his ankle during Saturday’s victory over Tottenham and has undergone surgery.

The Swede was hurt in a challenge from Micky van de Ven in the act of scoring the opening goal in the 2-1 victory and limped off the pitch.

A statement on liverpoolfc.com read: “After diagnosis, an operation was completed today on an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture.

“Isak’s rehabilitation will now continue at the AXA Training Centre, with no timeframe yet placed on his return.”

Celtic ready to bounce back under Wilfried Nancy

James Forrest believes Sunday’s 3-1 home win over 10-man Aberdeen will get Celtic back on track after it gave Nancy his first victory as Hoops boss.

The Frenchman took over from the interim management team of former boss Martin O’Neill and ex-player Shaun Maloney but found himself under immediate pressure after losing his first four games.

The 34-year-old Forrest reflected on the drama and negativity of the past couple of weeks as he looked forward with optimism.

“I can only talk about the changing room and the players, everyone’s together and I think you’ve seen that,” said Forrest.

“We could have easily drawn that game, but we showed that we’re all together and that’s the main thing.”

Serie A scrap Australia plan

Plans to stage a Serie A clash between AC Milan and Como in Australia have been shelved amid fears over the financial risk to the organisers.

All 20 top-flight clubs, the Italian football federation (FIGC) and UEFA had approved the plan put together by league bosses and the Western Australian Government to stage the fixture in Perth on February 8.

But, despite claiming the initiative had already generated 280million Australian dollars (around £138.4million) in global media exposure for the state, the initiative has been cancelled by mutual agreement.

A joint FIGC and WA Government statement blamed “onerous conditions” from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that presented “financial risks to the Western Australian Government and Serie A that could not be mitigated”.

Fulham looking up after win over Forest

Fulham boss Marco Silva hailed a “professional” performance after a first-half Raul Jimenez penalty continued their recent run of form with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Jimenez’s goal was enough to secure a second straight win that has now lifted Silva’s men above Bournemouth and Spurs into 13th spot.

Silva said: “The result, 100 per cent, is a massive three points and a massive win.

“We spoke about the importance of the game and getting back to winning ways at home after the Manchester City and Crystal Palace games.

“It wasn’t our best performance, but I don’t remember one chance for Forest all game.

“They had the possession but didn’t create and we managed the game well. A professional performance from the team.”

What’s on today

Arsenal and Crystal Palace look to book a Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea when they clash at the Emirates Stadium.

In the Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria face Tanzania, while fellow title hopefuls Senegal take on Botswana.