France striker Hugo Ekitike will miss the World Cup after suffering a rupture of the Achilles tendon during Liverpool‘s Champions League defeat by Paris St-Germain on Tuesday.
Ekitike left the pitch at Anfield on a stretcher after slipping in the first half and Liverpool fear a long absence for the 23-year-old, which could also rule him out of the start of next season.
He went for scans on Wednesday, which confirmed the extent of the damage.
In a statement on Thursday, Liverpool did not give a timeline for the recovery.
“Scans on the issue have subsequently confirmed a rupture of the Achilles tendon,” the club said.
“Ekitike will therefore be sidelined for the remaining weeks of the club season and unable to participate at this summer’s World Cup with France.
“Further updates will be provided at the appropriate time.”
On Wednesday night, France manager Didier Deschamps said in a statement published by the French Football Federation that Ekitike was out of this summer’s tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada.
He said: “Hugo is one of the dozen young players who have made their debuts with the national team in recent months. He had perfectly integrated into the group, both on the pitch and off it. This injury is a huge blow for him, of course, but also for the France team.
“His disappointment is immense. Hugo will regain his top form, I’m convinced of it. But I wanted to express all my support to him, as well as that of the entire staff. We know he’ll be fully behind the France team, and we’re all thinking of him very strongly.”
Ekitike joined Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt last July and has been one of their standout performers in a difficult season for the club, with 17 goals and six assists in all competitions.
Speaking after the quarter-final second-leg loss by PSG, head coach Arne Slot said of his frontman’s injury: “I think we could all see that it didn’t look well and didn’t look good.
“It’s especially very hard for him because you never want to be injured, especially not at this moment of time in the season.”
In January, Ekitike became just the second player after the iconic Kenny Dalglish to score in five different competitions during their debut campaign with Liverpool.
He made his France debut last September and was set to be part of Deschamps’ squad at the World Cup.
Liverpool have suffered a number of setbacks this season, with both teenage centre-back Giovanni Leoni and full-back Conor Bradley ruled out for the rest of the season with injuries.
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker and midfielder Wataru Endo also remain sidelined, while Sweden striker Alexander Isak returned this month from an ankle injury that he suffered in December.
