Liverpool star Hugo Ekitike is set to miss nine months of action after suffering a serious injury against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday and is unlikely to play again until 2027.
The Reds were dumped out of the Champions League after a 4-0 aggregate defeat by the French giants, who won 2-0 on the night thanks to a double from Ousmane Dembele.
What will be more concerning for Arne Slot is the health of Ekitike, though, as it has been confirmed that he has ruptured his Achilles tendon which not only rules him out for the rest of the season and a portion of the next, but also the 2026 World Cup with France.
Speaking post-match about the injury, Slot told Amazon Prime Video: “Not too good. I think we could all see that it didn’t look well and didn’t look good. Let’s wait and see what it will be. But we could all see it didn’t look good.
“In the second half he went home so I haven’t seen him yet. Losing a game is already very hard, especially in the way we lost it, but again – as it seems to be – losing a player is something we’ve had so many times this season.
“It’s especially very hard for him because you never want to be injured, especially not at this moment of time in the season.”
The confirmation of the severity of the injury came from French outlet L’Equipe on Wednesday morning.
The striker suffered the injury in the first half, falling to the floor in agony with no PSG players around him. He was substituted off and replaced by Mohamed Salah.
Ekitike’s first season
Ekitike joined Liverpool for an initial fee of €80 million in the summer and the club subsequently spent around €145m on another forward, Alexander Isak.
It was thought the pair would battle for the starting centre-forward spot at Anfield but Ekitike has actually benefitted from the injuries and lack of fitness of Isak, who has played just 11 Premier League games in his debut campaign.
The Frenchman has, therefore, been the undisputed starter for the Reds and has contributed 17 goals in 45 matches in 2025/26, including 11 in the Premier League.
The situation is now reversed and Isak will now be the starter for the few remaining games this season and into the start of the next.
Having spend so much on two strikers in the summer of 2025, it remains to be seen if Liverpool will spend big to find a replacement for Ekitike or a cheaper option is identified.
The club’s transfer spend may come down whether or not they qualify for the Champions League next season as they are currently fifth in the Premier League, though fifth is indeed guaranteed entry after England received another spot due to their coefficient performance.
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