L’Equipe clarifies Hugo Ekitike injury details
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L’Equipe have clarified the reports on Hugo Ekitke and his Achilles tendon injury sustained in the Champions League defeat to PSG. Image Credits: Imago ImagesL’Equipe have now confirmed Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike has suffered a rupture of his right Achilles tendon, after there being some contrasting reports on whether it was a complete rupture.Ekitike collapsed off the ball during the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Anfield, immediately clutching his ankle before being stretchered away in tears, leaving supporters fearing the worst but without definitive information.Initial reports spoke only of an Achilles problem, with Liverpool and France waiting on scans to determine whether it was a strain, partial tear or something more severe.It then seems those scans have now delivered the bleakest outcome, with L’Equipe reporting a full rupture that will sideline the 23-year-old for around nine months and rule him out of this summer’s World Cup in North America.
It is a crushing blow for a player who had become an increasingly important option for Didier Deschamps, scoring twice in his last four caps.The injury robs Ekitike of a first major tournament at the very moment his international career appeared to be taking off.Former team-mate Achraf Hakimi sent a message to Ekitike last night, saying “We are with you Hugo Ekitike! Stay strong!”Liverpool, too, are left counting the cost.
Ekitike’s goals in the last weeks of the Premier League would have been important in the Champions League race.His bsence arrives just as record signing Alexander Isak continues to work his way back to full sharpness following a lengthy lay-off with a fibula fracture. With Isak still short of peak rhythm and fitness, Slot must now navigate the Premier League run-in and a tight race for Champions League qualification with a very blunted attack.For club and country, what began as confusion over the nature of the injury has hardened into grim clarity: Ekitike’s season is over, his World Cup dream is gone, and a long, lonely rehabilitation journey now lies ahead.