April 15, (THEWILL) — Hugo Ekitiké collapsed to the turf late in the first half of Liverpool’s 2–0 UEFA Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, casting a long shadow over what was already a deeply difficult night for the English club.
The French forward was carried from the pitch on a stretcher, visibly clutching his ankle in considerable distress. Reports from France suggest Ekitiké has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, though
Liverpool are yet to confirm a formal diagnosis. Manager Arne Slot offered a sombre verdict after the final whistle: “Hugo looks really bad but it is difficult to say how bad. Let’s see. It doesn’t look good, that is clear.”
Centre-back Ibrahima Konaté echoed those concerns with equal gravity, saying:
“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.”
With only six matches remaining in the current campaign, Ekitiké’s debut season at the club is now over.
The broader implications are severe. A ruptured Achilles tendon typically requires a minimum of nine months’ recovery, placing Ekitiké’s return no earlier than January 2027 and ruling him out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which begins in under eight weeks.
Any setbacks along the way could push his absence well into 2027, with a full return to peak condition potentially not arriving until the 2027–28 season.
Slot has previously urged caution with fellow striker Alexander Isak, reminding supporters that stepping back onto the pitch is far removed from performing at one’s best. Liverpool fans will need to exercise the same patience with Ekitiké, whose promising first season at the club has been brought to a sudden and painful conclusion.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
