Hugo Ekitike has suffered a ruptured Achilles and will miss the World Cup and potentially the rest of 2026.
The Liverpool striker collapsed to the turf during the first half of the 2-0 Champions League defeat against Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield last night and it soon became apparent he was in distress.
Players from both teams – including several of PSG’s France contingent – gathered round him before he was taken off the field on a stretcher.
Leading French daily L’Equipe reported the 23-year-old was set to be sidelined for up to nine months and that has been confirmed by Fabrizio Romano.
Ekitike loss a massive blow for club and country
It is a huge blow for Ekitike, as well as France and Liverpool.
The Reds’ under-pressure boss Arne Slot told Amazon Prime Video Sport after last night’s game: “Not too good. We could all see it didn’t look good. Let’s wait and see what it will be. In the second half he went home and I haven’t seen him yet.
“As it seems to be, losing a player is something we have had many times this season but it is especially hard for him because you never want to be injured, especially at this time of the season.”
Ekitike joined Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt for an initial £69million last summer and has made a good impression, scoring 15 goals in 41 games in all competitions.
