Slot Reveals Issue After 5 Minutes

Hugo Ekitike was forced off with a worrying injury an hour into Liverpool’s 4-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven, with Arne Slot revealing it first emerged five minutes into the game.

Ekitike was one of Liverpool’s brightest players in the first half of their Champions League clash with PSV, but he could not produce the same impact after the break.

That compounded itself when the striker had to be replaced by Alexander Isak with just over an hour on the clock – in another blow to the woefully out-of-form champions.

Speaking in his post-match interview with TNT Sports, Slot explained that it was a back issue which developed in the early stages of the game.

What Arne Slot said on Hugo Ekitike back injury

“[In the second half] I constantly felt ‘hmm, what’s wrong with Hugo?’,” he said.

“It felt as if he couldn’t move as he did in the first half, so that’s why our press, I think, was also a little bit off.

“And he just told me that in the first five to 10 minutes of the first half he already felt his back too much. That’s also why he had to go out.

“Not that it’s only about him, but we couldn’t bring the same power in our pressing as we did in the first 45.”

Asked for the specifics around Ekitike’s injury in his post-match press conference, Slot simply said: “He felt his back spasm.”

It remains to be seen if this will be a serious issue for the Frenchman, but any time out would be a blow to Liverpool’s chances.

This comes with Isak clearly struggling for both form and fitness and no player having scored more goals than Ekitike (six) so far this season.

Liverpool were already without Alisson (illness), Florian Wirtz (muscle), Conor Bradley (muscle), Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring), Giovanni Leoni (ACL), Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring) and Jayden Danns (hamstring) on Wednesday night.

If Ekitike is facing a spell on the sidelines, Federico Chiesa could also be considered an option up front, but Slot has given little sign he trusts the Italian to start.

The onus would almost certainly fall on Isak to provide not only the goals but also the from-the-front pressing that his fellow centre-forward ostensibly does.

Liverpool are next in action on Sunday when they visit West Ham in the Premier League, with Slot’s pre-match press conference taking place at 3pm on Thursday.