Liverpool manager Arne Slot revealed that his team’s top scorer Hugo Ekitiké had sustained a “slight hamstring injury” which forced him to miss Sunday’s trip to Fulham.
As Slot was keen to point out, Ekitiké has been unrelentingly required thanks to Alexander Isak’s own fitness woes: The Sweden international had been struggling with various muscular complaints before breaking his leg two weeks ago.
For much of the season, Ekitiké has been called upon to lead the line for Liverpool. The 23-year-old started the club’s previous six fixtures—which were jammed into the span of 26 days—before this weekend’s Craven Cottage visit. Ekitiké has already amassed 1,643 minutes across all competitions this season, more than he was ever able to muster during his entire club career in France.
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A breakthrough campaign for Eintracht Frankfurt last term was Ekitiké’s first full season as a regular starter yet the impact of the Premier League has eventually caught up to the towering forward.
Speaking ahead of the clash with Fulham, Slot explained: “Isak has been out for a few weeks now and that’s meant Ekitiké had to play more minutes than the previous part of the season. That’s led to him picking up a slight hamstring injury, and for a player of his age, not completely used to the Premier League, that’s been a bit too much.”
Slot has frequently bemoaned the number of injuries which have proliferated Liverpool’s squad this season. On top of Isak and latterly Ekitiké, Florian Wirtz has also been sidelined with a minor muscle issue.
In fact, Milos Kerkez is the club’s only first-team summer recruit who is yet to spend any time in the treatment room—thanks, no doubt, to the two years he had acclimatising to the Premier League with Bournemouth.
It’s a busy time of year for Liverpool and Slot’s decision to leave Ekitiké out of Sunday’s squad was presumably made partially with the upcoming slate of fixtures in mind. A daunting trip to Arsenal is next on the horizon this Thursday and the Dutch boss was “hopeful” that his most prolific forward would be available.
Liverpool lined up without a recognised striker in their squad against Fulham. It was only the second time this season that Slot had named an XI without either Isak or Ekitiké, with the sole previous occurrence coming in the Carabao Cup fourth round against Crystal Palace.
The Reds were duly thumped at Anfield on that bleak evening but two of the team’s most impressive performances last season came when Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones dovetailed as a pair of false nines away to Manchester City and Brighton. Despite this past precedent, Slot is clearly keen to have Ekitiké available again as soon as possible.
