Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike will be sidelined for around nine months after picking up a serious injury in Tuesday’s defeat to PSG. The forward went down under no challenge in the first half and looked to be in agony as he rolled around on the turf. He was stretchered off after being treated by Liverpool doctors and left Anfield immediately.
It’s a crushing blow for Ekitike, who will miss the World Cup and a significant chunk of the 2026/27 campaign. It means Liverpool owners FSG will likely be forced to take emergency action by recruiting another striker in the summer transfer window.
Slot made it clear that the Frenchman was in a bad state with his post-match comments, saying: “We could all see that he didn’t look well and didn’t look right. We can all see it didn’t look good. In the second half he went home and I didn’t see him.
“Again as it seems, losing a player is something we’ve had a lot this season. It’s very hard for him because you never want to be injured at this time of the season.”
Ekitike’s injury came on the same night Alexander Isak was handed his first start since breaking his leg in December. He only managed five touches in the opening 45 minutes and was replaced at the break.
Slot explained that this was a pre-planned change, saying: “I said before the game that if you go to extra time and he plays the second half and plays 45 minutes, there are only two minutes in between before extra time comes up for half an hour.
“I don’t think that was realistic. To play him for 45 minutes and see at halftime how he feels to add five to 10 minutes to that, that was a possibility today.
“But because we already had to make the first substitution in the first half, I didn’t want to make the second substitution five minutes after half-time. That’s why I took him off at half-time.
“He was twice close to a goal and that’s why you play a striker of his level. There was one header from a set-piece and one great run in behind (Willian) Pacho where he was really close to scoring which was eventually offside.
“It’s good to have him back. He was ready and if I thought he wasn’t ready then I wouldn’t have played him.
“If you compare us today to last week, I think it’s fair to say he was completely ready to play otherwise you can’t play a first half as we did, although the second half was even better.”
Isak will need to shoulder Liverpool’s attacking burden for the rest of the season, given that Ekitike will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
He will almost certainly start in this weekend’s Merseyside derby, although Cody Gakpo can also deputise as a striker if needed.
