The images left little room for doubt. And unfortunately for Hugo Ekitiké, the dreaded diagnosis is indeed confirmed. According to The Parisian et The Teamthe Liverpool striker, struck down by an innocuous action during the quarter-final return of the Champions League between his club and PSG (0-2), Tuesday evening, suffers from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Additional examinations will tell whether it is partial or total, but the consequences will be the same: Ekitiké will have to have an operation and will not be able to play again for at least nine months. Above all, he will miss the World Cup with the France team.
As soon as he left the field, coach Arne Slot spoke of “a serious injury” for his player, who left the pitch in tears. “I don’t know what to say about this, because with the World Cup approaching, it’s very, very difficult for him, and I send him my thoughts,” said his partner Ibrahima Konaté, dejected.
The setback is terrible for the former PSG player, who had exploded in a season and a half at Eintracht Frankfurt before being transferred to Liverpool for 90 million euros last summer. Amid the ghosts Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, he has so far been the only offensive rookie to hold his place, with 17 goals scored in 45 games this season.
All the news from the Champions League
At the same time, he made his mark with the French team, with eight selections since last September. Starting against Brazil in March (2-1), he scored a goal and showed his complementarity with Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé on the attacking front. Didier Deschamps had made no secret of the fact that he was very satisfied with himself, and his place seemed assured for the trip to the United States.
Leave a Reply