Alexander Isak private fitness talks continue as Liverpool theory set for ultimate test

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A look at Alexander Isak's situation and how game-time for Sweden this break will be a big benefit to his Liverpool careerIn an ideal world for Arne Slot, the fitness programme designed for Alexander Isak upon his Liverpool arrival would not have been so detailed. The nature of his protracted and acrimonious move from Newcastle United in the summer transfer window inevitably had a knock-on effect for a player who, by the time he made his first appearance for the Reds had gone four months without a minute of any kind at club level.Isak's only appearance between the end of last season on May 25 and that outing against Atletico Madrid on September 17 came when he played for just 18 minutes for Sweden against Kosovo earlier last month.“The Swedish manager (Jon Dahl Tomasson) deserves a big compliment because he gets the best striker in the world but understands if he plays 90 minutes twice, he might be injured for a number of weeks,” Liverpool head coach Slot said after the last international break.READ MORE: Federico Chiesa strong message sent as Arne Slot told to stop picking 'underwhelming' Liverpool manREAD MORE: Arne Slot's Liverpool in-tray with five key changes needed to turn Reds form around“We will treat him the same as they did.”Since then the £125m striker has amassed 312 of the 630 minutes played for the Reds, excluding stoppage time, laying bare that the plan has been to use him for roughly half of the time in an effort to get him up to speed without overburdening him.Exposing a player who had no pre-season schedule to the intensity of the Premier League, particularly at a club like Liverpool - where the demands and expectations are astronomical - is a risk.

And, while some his extended run-outs have been decided by specific game states, Slot and his staff have been determined to stick to the plan.The sight of Isak doing shuttle runs during the half-time interval of the 2-1 win over Southampton in the Carabao Cup last month was indicative of that. The 26-year-old might have been minded to have felt he earned a sit down and a pat on the back in the dressing room, having opened his account for his new club on the cusp of half time.Instead, the most expensive player of all time in British football was back out, running lengths of the Anfield pitch under the watchful eye of fitness staff before being withdrawn, as was the case after his 23-minute cameo in the Merseyside derby win over Everton.Slot has gone public with his belief that Isak won't be considered as being 100% internally until after the international break.Whether that was done to stave off critiques, assessments or knee-jerk judgement from pundits and media or whether it is the genuine thought process inside the club only the head coach and his inner circle will know."We can't change the situation (with Isak)," Sweden boss Tomasson said this week.

He is still injured."That's also a reason why we couldn't play him so much last month. That's how we plan, while Liverpool have done really well."But with the Reds in regular dialogue with the Swedish national team and their performance manager, Ben Rosen, with whom the club have been holding private talks, Slot may even stand to benefit from significant minutes for Isak against Switzerland and Kosovo.And with Manchester United up next on the other side of that break, the new Liverpool No.9 has the ideal opportunity to prove his manager correct over being 100% later this month.The fixture remains, by some distance, the most watched in club football across the planet, so a fully fit Isak might just feel the stars have aligned for his Anfield career to take lift-off.