A medical verdict with no wiggle room
Anfield’s pitch was the scene of a major injury on Tuesday night. Carried off on a stretcher in the 31st minute of Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, Hugo Ekitike now knows the full extent of the damage. Scans have shown a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right leg, according to reports from L’Équipe and Le Parisien.
It happened all on its own, with no contact at all from an opponent. The 23-year-old went down after simply planting his foot on the English turf, with the game still goalless.
Nine months on the sidelines
The sporting fallout is immediate. The striker is expected to be out for nine months. That rules him out of the 2026 World Cup, full stop. Hugo Ekitike will not be at the international tournament, which kicks off on 11 June.
This brutal injury has stopped a strong season in its tracks. Signed by the English club last summer for a fee set at 95 million euros, the former PSG forward had been putting up decent numbers. He finished with 17 goals and 6 assists in all competitions for the Reds.
A nasty blow for the national team 
This blow leaves head coach Didier Deschamps without a major attacking option. Ekitike’s place in the France squad had become more and more secure over the course of the season. Regularly called up for international camps since last September, the forward had recently strengthened his claim at senior level.
His last outing in the blue shirt came on 26 March. Named in the starting XI on the left side of the attack for the 2-1 friendly win over Brazil in Boston, the centre-forward turned in a performance that made people sit up and take notice. France’s coaching staff now have to find another way to cover for his long absence.
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