Hugo Ekitike was stretchered off during Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain, and Liverpool boss Arne Slot worries the striker has sustained a serious injury.
After 30 minutes of the second leg of the quarterfinal, Ekitike fell off the ball and clutched his ankle before leaving the field in obvious distress. Liverpool was defeated 4-0 overall and 2-0 on the evening.
After the game, Slot remarked, “Hugo looks really bad, but it is difficult to say how bad.” “We’ll see. It’s obvious that it doesn’t look nice. He was already at home after the game, and I didn’t see him at halftime. I haven’t talked to him yet.
After joining Anfield from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, the 22-year-old is in his first season and has made 45 appearances in all competitions, scoring 17 goals.
His chances of being included in France’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad would be severely damaged by a protracted layoff.
Ibrahima Konate, a teammate, acknowledged that the scenario appears concerning. “I think it is bad,” he remarked in an interview with Amazon Prime. “I don’t know, I’ve heard a lot of things, but I don’t know how to discuss that because he is going through a really difficult time with the World Cup coming up, and I pray for him.”
Alongside Alexander Isak, who made his first start since early December after recuperating from a fractured leg, Ekitike had started in attack. Florian Wirtz had an appearance as well, but Slot acknowledged that his three big summer acquisitions haven’t played together much this season.
“We have played with Florian, Alex, and Hugo for 88 minutes up until tonight. We added about 27 to that, and I would be surprised if we add more minutes to that this season,” he remarked.
“The good news is that Alex has returned.”
