Liverpool have been handed yet another major injury blow after Hugo Ekitike was subbed off just seven minutes into the Reds' clash with Brighton on Saturday. The Frenchman was left clutching at his leg after a collision with James Milner early on, receiving treatment on the pitch before making his way to the sidelines for 30 seconds.
Determined to try to run off any discomfort, Ekitike was back on the floor just seconds after re-entering the pitch, as Arne Slot was forced to deploy Curtis Jones in his place. It will come as a major blow to the Reds, who are already stretched thin in attack as a result of Alexander Isak's leg fracture in December.
Mohamed Salah was also ruled out of Saturday's trip to the AMEX Stadium as a result of an injury sustained during Liverpool's midweek Champions League rout of Galatasaray. Slot confirmed after that match that Salah "felt something," before requesting a substitution 20 minutes from time.
And the Dutch head coach confirmed that he would miss this weekend's fixture during his pre-match press conference on Friday. Speaking with the media, Slot said: "It is unusual [Salah is injured], I think you expect the outcome so he is not available for tomorrow.
"The good thing for us is we go to international break, bad news for Egypt, he can't go there. We hope with what Mo has shown in the past he can recover faster than other players.
"He takes such good care of his body, he can be back earlier than others as history has shown. Only two weeks until we go again."
Slot also confirmed that Salah's injury was muscular, rather than a less severe impact knock. As a result of his injury against Brighton, Ekitike joins a lengthy list of players sidelined for Liverpool at present.
Stefan Bajcetic is yet to appear for the Reds this season as a result of setbacks in his recovery from a hamstring issue. Meanwhile, Conor Bradley will be out for the remainder of the season as a result of a knee injury sustained against Arsenal in January.
Wataru Endo suffers a similar fate after being carried off on a stretcher against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in February with a foot injury, while Giovanni Leoni continues his rehabilitation for an ACL injury sustained in September.
Brighton struck first during Liverpool's trip to the AMEX on Saturday afternoon with a soaring header 14 minutes into play. However, Milos Kerkez levelled matters on the half-hour mark, sneakily breaking the Seagulls' backline off the back of a deep ball from Giorgi Mamardashvili, before dinking Bart Verbruggen.
However, Welbeck came back to haunt the visitors around 10 minutes into the second-half by bagging his brace, with Liverpool failing to respond as Brighton ran out 2-1 winners.
It comes as Liverpool enter the fold in need of perfection between now and season's end to potentially secure Champions League football for 2026/27. The Reds sit fifth in the Premier League table at present, just two points clear of a sixth-place Chelsea.
A top five-finish should be enough to secure European football next season, although Liverpool also have the chance to qualify by winning this year's edition of the competition.
Slot's side will travel to the Parc des Princes to take on PSG in the quarter-finals of the Champions League come April 8, before the reverse leg at Anfield on April 14.
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