Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike appears optimistic that he has dodged a serious injury following their disappointing 1-0 defeat against Galatasaray. The 23-year-old was forced off during their Champions League setback with Arne Slot’s men desperately hunting an equaliser. Ekitike was left sprawled on the RAMS Park surface after stretching to collect an errant ball from Dominik Szoboszlai, staying down following the incident.
His substitution occurred mere moments after the Dutch boss gambled by introducing Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah in an attempt to breathe life into a toothless forward line. Despite flashes of promise, particularly through the Egyptian down the right flank, they failed to salvage a draw.
Liverpool conclude their punishing sequence of three straight away fixtures with a journey to Stamford Bridge to tackle Chelsea on Saturday.
The reigning Premier League champions will be hoping that Ekitike is available following the France international’s encouraging start to the season after his summer switch from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Athletic moved to ease fitness worries via social media, revealing that Ekitike left the stadium confident he only had cramp in his hamstring rather than anything more serious.
Liverpool will hobble into the clash against Enzo Maresca’s outfit following their Turkish disappointment, marking a rare occurrence during Slot’s reign after enduring consecutive losses.
Alisson Becker is set to miss the upcoming match after being forced off the pitch late in the game, while there are concerns over Ekitike’s fitness. Liverpool could potentially lose their top goalscorer for Saturday’s crucial clash.
“He felt something when he had to reach for the ball,” Slot revealed. “I think we all know which one it was when we were trying to force something.
“I think at that moment in time, on the other side there was someone on the floor as well, so the referee blew his whistle and I wasn’t even thinking we had an injury, but Hugo felt something.
“After the game, that’s always the difficult thing with these moments when players feel like it is not too bad, but when you just walk around it is something different than when you make a sprint or have to shoot on target.
“He said he couldn’t continue so we had to take him off. Let’s see how he is for the weekend.”
