Arne Slot has expressed serious concerns about the injury sustained by Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike. The incident occurred during their Champions League defeat to Paris St-Germain. Ekitike was stretchered off the pitch in the quarter-final second leg, a match the Reds lost 2-0, resulting in a 4-0 aggregate defeat.
Ekitike’s Injury and Initial Reactions
Ekitike went down off the ball after 30 minutes. He was seen holding his ankle and appeared to be in considerable pain before being taken off the pitch.
“Hugo looks really bad but it is difficult to say how bad,” Slot said after the game. “Let’s see. It doesn’t look good, that is clear. I didn’t see him at half-time and after the game he was already home. I have not spoken to him yet.”
Impact on Ekitike and Liverpool
Ekitike is in his first season at Liverpool, having joined last summer from Eintracht Frankfurt. He has scored 17 goals in 45 games in all competitions, including 11 Premier League goals. A significant absence would be a blow to his hopes of representing France at this summer’s World Cup in North America.
His club and international team-mate Ibrahima Konate acknowledged the difficulty of the situation for Ekitike. “I think it is bad,” he told Amazon Prime. “I don’t know, I have heard many things, I have no word to talk about that because with the World Cup coming it is very, very hard for him and I send him my prayers.”
Slot’s Frustrations with Attacking Trio
Ekitike had started the match alongside Alexander Isak, who was making his first start since early December following a broken leg. Florian Wirtz also featured in the starting line-up. Slot lamented the limited time his three major summer signings have been able to play together this season.
He said: “For 88 minutes until tonight we have played with Florian, Alex and Hugo, we added about 27 to that, and I would be surprised if we add more minutes to that this season.” Slot did offer a positive note, adding, “The good thing is Alex is back.”
The extent of Ekitike’s injury remains unclear, but the initial signs are concerning for both Liverpool and the player’s World Cup aspirations.