Hugo Ekitike will miss the World Cup and be out for at least nine months after he ruptured his Achilles tendon against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday night, the France Football Federation confirmed on Wednesday.
The Liverpool forward left the pitch on a stretcher and in tears after just 22 minutes of the quarterfinal second leg at Anfield.
“Unfortunately, the severity of [Ekitike’s] injury will prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and taking part in the World Cup,” France national team manager Didier Deschamps said in a statement from FFF.
“This injury is a huge blow for him, of course, but also for the French national team.
“I wanted to express my full support for him, as well as that of the entire coaching staff.”
A source told ESPN that Ekitike said he heard his Achilles snap before collapsing on the ground in pain on Tuesday.
Scans on Wednesday were done to discover whether the rupture is full or partial.
The recovery time for a ruptured Achilles tendon is between nine and 12 months.
Liverpool are yet to confirm the information, but the Frenchman’s injury is a massive blow for the Reds in their final push toward a top-five finish in the Premier League, and for France, for whom Ekitike, 23, would have featured at the World Cup in the summer.
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Arne Slot said “it doesn’t look good” on Tuesday night, while Ibrahima Konaté said: “I think it is bad. I don’t know, I have heard many things, I have no word to talk about that because with the World Cup coming it is very, very hard for him and I send him my prayers.”
The club is already working on a plan for his surgery and then his rehabilitation process, the source said.
The former PSG striker arrived on Merseyside last summer and had an immediate impact with 17 goals and six assists in all competitions in his first season at the club.
