Hugo Ekitike was stretchered off during Liverpool’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on Tuesday night
19:58, 15 Apr 2026Updated 20:23, 15 Apr 2026
Hugo Ekitike picked up an injury during Tuesday night’s match with Paris Saint-Germain(Image: Getty Images)
Hugo Ekitike has been ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a serious injury during Liverpool’s Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. Ekitike was taken off on a stretcher with a suspected Achilles injury after going down in the 27th minute under no pressure from a PSG player.
Speaking after the Reds’ 2-0 defeat, Arne Slot admitted that the injury looked like a bad one, and France boss Didier Deschamps has confirmed the striker’s season is now over and he will miss this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
In a statement, Deschamps said: “Hugo suffered a serious injury on Tuesday evening against PSG. The severity of his injury will unfortunately prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and participating in the World Cup.
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“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.
Hugo Ekitike was in pain as he grabbed his leg immediately(Image: Xavier Laine, Getty Images)
“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.”
While Slot said on Tuesday night: “It looks really bad but we don’t know how bad yet. We all see the video and the clips, it doesn’t look good.
“For only 88 minutes until tonight we have played with Florian [Wirtz], Alex [Alexander Isak] and Hugo, and we added about 27 to that tonight.
“I would be surprised if we add any more minutes to that this season. The good thing is, Alex is back.”
And team-mate Ibrahima Konate said after the game: “I am very sad for him, and I hope he will come back. I think it’s bad. I don’t know.
“I heard many things. With the World Cup, all the things coming this summer, it’s very hard for him at this moment – and I send him my prayers.”