LONDON — Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes Hugo Ekitike can come back even stronger from a ruptured Achilles tendon that has ended the French striker’s season, and his dreams of playing in the 2026 World Cup.
Ekitike suffered the injury against his former club Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday as Liverpool bowed out of the UEFA Champions League, AFP reported.
The 23-year-old had scored 17 goals in his debut season in England after a £69 million ($93 million) move from Eintracht Frankfurt and was almost certain to make Didier Deschamps’s France squad for the World Cup.
“Devastating for him,” said Slot on Friday with Ekitike expected to be out for at least nine months.
“Missing out on so many special moments, but he’s not the first and will not be the last player that experienced something like this in the start of his career.
“There are so many examples of players that came back even stronger and that’s the challenge he has now.
“I’m 100 per cent sure he will be one of those that in 10 to 15 years say, ‘maybe this injury even helped me to become stronger and become even more ready to perform even at a higher level than I did before’.”
The loss of Ekitike was also a huge blow to Liverpool’s hopes of securing a place in the Champions League next season.
Slot’s men sit fifth in the Premier League, which will be enough to qualify, and enjoy a four-point lead over sixth-placed Chelsea.
But Everton can cut the gap on their local rivals to two points if they win the first ever Merseyside derby at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.
Liverpool also still has to face Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa in their final six games of the campaign.
Alexander Isak’s return is timely for Slot given Ekitike’s absence.
The Premier League’s most expensive ever player made his first start since December against PSG.
But the £125 million signing lasted only 45 minutes and Slot said the Swedish striker is still not ready to play a full match.
The decision to splash out over £200 million on two similar strikers has been questioned given Liverpool’s struggles this season.
But Slot said that the injury problems suffered by Isak and Ekitike justified the club’s strategy in pursuing two No 9s last summer.
“It’s nice to have Alex back, although we also know that he’s not ready to play 90 (minutes) yet,” added Slot.
“At least a good thing is that we signed two nines because there were a lot of people who were debating why we signed two nines.
“We thought maybe it’s smart not to be the only club in the world that only has one. Now all of a sudden that looks maybe quite good!”
