Hugo Ekitike is an injury doubt for Liverpool’s trip to Arsenal on Thursday night, according to a fresh claim from reliable journalist David Lynch.
The Reds face arguably their toughest game of the season later this week, making the trip to a Gunners side seemingly on their way to the Premier League title.
For Liverpool, it has been a campaign to forget for many reasons, and in fairness to Arne Slot, injuries to key players aren’t helping, with Alexander Isak among those missing, and Mohamed Salah still at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Ekitike missed the 2-2 draw at Fulham last weekend, and taking to X on Wednesday, Lynch said that the Frenchman is a doubt for the Arsenal game: “Arne Slot uncertain whether Hugo Ekitike will be available train today. Could miss tomorrow’s trip to Arsenal if not.”
A potential huge injury blow for Liverpool
Liverpool not having Ekitike would be a major blow for such a difficult game, with Wayne Rooney speaking of his admiration for him earlier this season:
“He’s been one of, if not the best, signing in the Premier League. And fair play to him because the pressure on him must have been huge because obviously he cost quite a bit of money as well, but with Liverpool bringing Wirtz in and Isak, there was a huge amount of pressure on him to try and get in the team.
“And he’s been the one who’s the most consistent one for them in terms of scoring goals and his overall play has been really good.”
Ekitike has been a rare positive for Liverpool throughout the campaign, having hit the ground running since his move from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer.
The 23-year-old has scored eight goals in 13 league starts, and not having him against an Arsenal side who are excellent defensively will only make the Reds most toothless in the final third.
If Ekitike does miss out, there is added pressure on the likes of Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo to deliver, as Slot’s side look for what feels like an unlikely victory in north London, given the respective fortunes of either side currently.