Micky Van de Ven shares Alexander Isak's text message response after leg-breaking tackle

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Micky van de Ven has opened up about his apology to Alexander Isak following the tackle that resulted in the Liverpool forward's broken leg. Isak underwent surgery on Monday to repair an ankle injury, which included a fractured left fibula, after being hit by a late heavy challenge from Tottenham defender Van de Ven while scoring the first goal in Liverpool's 2-1 Premier League victory in London over the weekend.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot's assertion that the tackle was "reckless" was dismissed by Tottenham's Thomas Frank boss on Tuesday afternoon. Van de Ven has now shed light on the conversation he had with Isak after the severity of the injury became apparent, insisting he had no intention of injuring the Sweden forward.

"Yeah, I've texted him, of course," Van de Ven told Sky Sports . "I sent him a text because I didn't want to injure him.

"I didn't want to do something to hurt him, of course. I just wanted to try to block the shot.

"And I think it was a bit unlucky how his foot landed between my legs. So yeah, I sent him a text afterwards, and I wanted to wish him all the best for his recovery. That's what I said to him.

"He really appreciated the message. He texted back."

Following this latest blow in a challenging season, Isak, who moved to Anfield from Newcastle United at the start of September for a British record £125million, is now expected to be out of action for several months.

Spurs manager Frank stated on Tuesday: "I am obviously disagreeing (with Slot) in many ways," he said. "We are talking about a defender that will do everything he can to avoid the goal.

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"It is a transition, there is a ball down the side and he is doing everything he can to block the shot so he is sliding. Unfortunately Isak plants his foot so it makes it look worse than it is, but that is a natural action for a defender.

"Put it this way, if my defender does not do that, they are not true defenders! Reckless challenge?

"I don't think you see anything like that from Micky. He is very fair and I know the two players have sorted it out, so that's a good sign."

Slot said earlier this week: "It was for me a reckless challenge," he said. "Xavi Simons [tackle on Virgil van Dijk] was completely unintentional.

"I don't think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that. The tackle of Van de Ven, if you make that tackle 10 times then 10 times there's a serious chance a player could get a serious injury."

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