France and Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike suffers ruptured Achilles injury and will miss World Cup, club confirm

The 23-year-old was stretchered off in the first half of the second leg at Anfield after going down with a non-contact injury.

Ekitike has been capped eight times by France after making his international debut in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in 2025.

The striker was in tears as he laid on the Anfield pitch during the first half of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against PSG, consoled by members of the opposition aware of the serious nature of the injury.

It brings an end to Ekitike's first season in the Premier League since his £69 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, with the Frenchman scoring 16 goals and providing six assists in all competitions.

A club statement released on Thursday read: "Liverpool can confirm Hugo Ekitike has sustained a serious Achilles injury.

"The forward had to be substituted during the first half of Tuesday's Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield after a slip on the turf.

"Scans on the issue have subsequently confirmed a rupture of the Achilles tendon.

"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, with Hugo receiving the full support of everyone at LFC."

Ekitike's setback is a major blow to France's World Cup aspirations, and the player himself, but it leaves Liverpool in a precarious position heading into the final few weeks of the season.

Set to finish the campaign trophyless, the soon-to-be-dethroned Premier League champions sit fifth in the table, four points clear of Chelsea with six games remaining.

There will be at least five English representatives in next season's Champions League based on league position, so Ekitike's team-mates must now step up to ensure the bare minimum objective is met.

The Reds have only just welcomed back Alexander Isak following a four-month lay-off after the Sweden forward broke his leg in the process of scoring in his side's 2-1 win at Tottenham last December.

Isak, signed after Ekitike's arrival last summer in a £125m switch from Newcastle, was played from the off against PSG but was substituted by Arne Slot at half-time as a precaution.

There will be more pressure now on Isak to get back to full fitness as quickly as possible in Ekitike's absence, with Champions League football next season not yet confirmed.

Slot's gamble of starting the former Real Sociedad striker against PSG backfired, but the Dutchman must decide on whether to do so again this Sunday, when Liverpool make the short trip to face Everton for the first time at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Isak has scored just twice in 11 Premier League games this season, while Cody Gakpo provides another option through the middle - flanked either side by Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed Salah - if Slot decides to start the game against his Merseyside rivals with the same front-line which effectively ended the second leg against PSG.

France head coach Didier Deschamps must reconsider his options for this summer's World Cup tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Ekitike scored during the friendly against Brazil last month. Indeed, his two international goals had come in his country's last four games, and Deschamps had started him in three of France's last six matches, viewed as the main understudy to Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe.

"Hugo suffered a serious injury on Tuesday evening against PSG," said Deschamps in quotes released on the national team's X account on Wednesday.

"The severity of his injury will unfortunately prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and participating in the World Cup.

"Hugo is one of the dozen young players who have made their debuts with the national team in recent months. He was 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."

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