Hugo Ekitike showed his class on social media with a supportive message to a recently released Liverpool academy player whom he posed for a photo with last summer
Hugo Ekitike looks on during a Liverpool training session
Hugo Ekitike remains active on social media after rupturing the Achilles tendon in his right leg(Image: Jan Kruger, Getty Images)
View Image
Hugo Ekitike delivered a heartfelt show of support to a promising young footballer released from Liverpool's academy. Roman Dimine took to Instagram over the weekend to announce that the club had released him from their youth setup.
The 12-year-old wrote: "My Liverpool journey has come to an end. I have been released from the club. My journey will now begin somewhere else. This isn't the end; it's only the beginning. There are no words for how I'm feeling right now, but I will be back stronger."
Ekitike responded to the post with a comment. The 23-year-old encouraged the youngster to keep his "head up".
The gesture speaks volumes about his character. Ekitike found the time to interact despite having suffered one of the most devastating injuries an athlete can endure just days beforehand.
The forward faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after rupturing his right Achilles tendon during last week's Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield. Ekitike went off after approximately half an hour of Liverpool's clash with PSG.
It immediately became clear that he had picked up a serious problem. Two days later, Liverpool confirmed that Ekitike had sustained a ruptured Achilles, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
Ekitike's injury leaves Alexander Isak as the sole recognised striker in Liverpool's squad. He himself has only just returned from the broken leg he sustained in December.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot discussed Ekitike's injury during a press conference last week ahead of Sunday's Merseyside derby. The Reds went on to win at Hill Dickinson Stadium thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Slot said: "It's devastating for him [Ekitike] coming to a new club and having an impact. My first thoughts are with him being out for such a long time and missing out on special moments.
"He's not the first or last to experience this. There are so many examples of players that came back even stronger - that's his challenge.
"He could be one of those in 10-15 years' time that will say the injury made him stronger and to perform at an even higher level than before."
FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page
Content Image
Content Image