Liverpool manager Arne Slot fears Hugo Ekitike has suffered a serious injury after the striker was stretchered off during Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
Ekitike went down off the ball after 30 minutes of the quarter-final second leg, clutching his ankle before leaving the pitch in visible distress. Liverpool lost 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate.
“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.”
The 22-year-old is in his first season at Anfield following his move from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer and has scored 17 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions.
A lengthy lay-off would deal a major blow to his hopes of making France’s squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Team-mate Ibrahima Konate admitted the situation looks worrying. Speaking to Amazon Prime, he said: “I think it is bad. “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.”
Ekitike had started in attack alongside Alexander Isak, who made his first start since early December after recovering from a broken leg. Florian Wirtz also featured, but Slot admitted his three major summer signings have rarely played together this season.
“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,” he said.
“The good thing is Alex is back.”
