A closer look at Hugo Ekitike's current situation after his injury update last week out in Los Angeles, California
Hugo Ekitike was back at Liverpool's training ground this week
Hugo Ekitike was back at Liverpool's training ground this week (Image: Liverpool FC)
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It would have been easy for Hugo Ekitike to feel like his world had imploded as he lay prone on the Anfield turf back on April 8.
A ruptured Achilles, suffered in the early stages of a Champions League quarter-final against former club Paris Saint-Germain, stopped a promising individual campaign dead in its tracks.
While Liverpool generally endured a season to forget as a whole, Ekitike still registered 17 goals across all competitions to become the first player not named Mohamed Salah since Philippe Coutinho in 2017 to finish as the Reds' top scorer.
But while the injury instantly ended his campaign, there was a double blow: the news also confirmed it was severe enough to ruin any chance of playing for France at the World Cup.
"It's hard, maybe even unfair...but I am grateful this happening to me here among you," Ekitike posted at the time as the caption to an Instagram post of him sitting on the Anfield turf before kick-off against PSG.
"I'm not alone. Your strength and your love will be my driving force. See you again soon, Anfield."
It was a cruel blow for a player whose efforts deserved more. But it also indicated how things generally went at Liverpool last season. You need your top scorer for the most important game of the season? He's now out for the rest of the year.
And the lasting legacy of a forgettable, largely regrettable term under Arne Slot is that Ekitike is now sidelined for a significant portion of the new era under Andoni Iraola at a time when he would have been champing at the bit to catch the eye.
The 24-year-old has been working on his recovery extensively during his summer vacation, using the expertise of a physiotherapist he personally enlisted out in Los Angeles.
Under the careful watch of German physio Berengar Buschmann in California, Ekitike has stepped up his rehabilitation process considerably in recent days.
A video published on social media last week showed Ekitike working hard on his rehab in the gym, performing several exercises designed to strengthen the Achilles, including gentle football work.
Hugo Ekitike has been working on his rehabilitation from his ruptured Achilles with a physiotherapist in Los Angeles (Instagram)(Image: Berengar Buschmann Instagram)
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In the video, he could be seen performing some basic ball juggling while also passing the ball back to the physio with and without the aid of crutches. Weight-bearing exercises that look to strengthen tendons have also formed part of the agenda.
Ekitike could be seen undertaking some aquatic aerobics and drills designed to build up endurance in the ruptured Achilles, which is widely regarded as one of the most severe injuries for footballers.
Buschmann was drafted in at the request of the player and he has worked closely with Liverpool from the beginning, establishing a pathway that will take the France international back to the pitch as quickly as possible.
The physio met with the club's medical staff at the AXA Training Centre earlier this year to thrash out a long-term plan for recovery and that is now starting to take real shape.
A report in French publication L'Equipe last month claimed Ekitike is targeting a return to the pitch on Boxing Day, when the Reds visit Hull City.
That proposed comeback would come slap bang in the middle of one of the most intense periods of the campaign however and is viewed by some as a little optimistic at this stage.
Ekitike is more likely to be gently coaxed back into action via cup duty, if possible for Iraola, and there is no sense internally that Liverpool are placing a timescale on the recovery process at this stage.
Only when the rehabilitation phase has been complete can the club's medical team begin to have a realistic idea on when the £79m signing from Eintracht Frankfurt's likely emotional comeback can be pencilled in, and given the level of investment in him, he won't be rushed.
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 10: Hugo Ekitike of Liverpool celebrates their first goal during the 2025 FA Community Shield match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on August 10, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Hugo Ekitike celebrates his first goal for Liverpool, which put them in front early on in the Community Shield with Crystal Palace at Wembley(Image: Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
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Celtic's Jake Carter-VIckers, for example, picked up a serious Achilles issue in October of last year and was only able to return to the pitch earlier this week in a pre-season friendly with Irish side Shelbourne. Like Ekitike, the defender was forced to miss the World Cup with the United States.
Eberechi Eze, now of Arsenal, was out for six months between May and November of 2021 when at Crystal Palace.
Ekitike now has been out of action for half of the period that England star Eze missed and with the videos emerging online last week, it would easy to form an optimistic outlook on when the No.22 will be able to contribute once more.
However, the Frenchman was pictured at Balenciaga's Haute Couture event in Paris this week still using his crutches. He was also snapped at the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday with the walking aids in hand, meaning a return to the training pitches still looks some way off.
Ekitike's natural disposition has been highlighted by some as a reason why the devastating injury won't swallow him up during the hard and long recovery process.
Such setbacks for young athletes of that level are likely a mental issue as much as a physical one but there's a belief he is made of the right stuff.
The striker has quickly established himself as one of the most fun-loving and affable characters in the squad since his arrival and he will need to tap into this part of his personality as the long wait continues.