Hugo Ekitike has a “long rehab process” ahead but Arne Slot believes he has made the “most important step” after undergoing successful surgery last week.
Ekitike underwent surgery in London last week overseen by Dr Martin O’Malley, the American surgeon who operated on the same injury to Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum last year.
Tatum made what has been described as a ‘miracle’ return to the court 10 months after his surgery and this week recorded his fifth career triple-double to mark an outstanding comeback.
That provides an optimistic view on the French striker’s recovery, though speaking in his pre-Crystal Palace press conference on Friday, Slot reiterated that it will be a “long rehab process.”
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“The surgery went well, so that’s the first positive, an important step he had to make,” the Liverpool head coach told reporters at the AXA Training Centre.
“But I think in such a long rehab process there are so many crucial steps to be made before you can actually say it’s going to take that amount of months or that amount of months.
“Everybody can know if you call the first surgeon and ask him ‘how long is this injury going to take?’, that they will tell you ‘multiple months’.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Monday, April 13, 2026: Liverpool's (L-R) Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha and Hugo Ekitike during a training session at the AXA Training Centre ahead of the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“Then it all depends on how rehab goes. He’s a very explosive player, so usually that’s not helpful if you have this injury, but maybe he’s the exception to that.
“We don’t know yet, but the first and most important step is that the surgery went well.
“And he can from now on work on his recovery, which is going to take a long time.
“But as I said, he will be back stronger, as with all the others that have been injured for such a long time.”
How long will Hugo Ekitike be out with Achilles rupture?
Early projections of Ekitike’s rehabilitation suggest a nine-to-12-month timeline for his return to play, meaning regardless of the speed of his recovery he will miss the rest of the year.
The situation remains unclear beyond that point, with Slot right to remain cautious in his approach to the injury and when his No. 22 will be available again.
But the success of his surgery and the expertise involved is a major positive in itself, with Ekitike’s focus now on rest and recovery before his rehab builds up alongside Liverpool’s medical staff.