Liverpool were handed a major blow on the home stretch of their Premier League campaign, when Hugo Ekitike limped off the pitch early doors against Brighton on Saturday. The Reds suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Seagulls courtesy of goals from Danny Welbeck either side of Milos Kerkez's first-half strike.
However, dropping points was the least of Arne Slot's concerns, given his injury list at a crucial stage of the season grew that little bit longer. Ekitike was left clutching his leg on the pitch just minutes into Saturday's early kick-off, following a collision with James Milner.
While the Frenchman made a good effort to return to the field and run off any discomfort, his efforts ultimately proved fruitless, as he was back on the turf just a minute or so later. Slot was then compelled to field Curtis Jones in his place, as Liverpool played out their Premier League clash without a true striker.
Despite initial fears that Ekitike's injury could be a serious affair, given he hobbled off the pitch in the aftermath of his collision, Slot was quick to confirm in the aftermath of the loss that he should not be sidelined for too long. He told TNT Sports: "I think the players, the fans, we all know that there's only eight games to go to qualify for Champions League.
"And then every game that you have to miss is something you're upset about. And I think him having to go off after one or two minutes, not being able to help the team any more with something that is just a bit of bad luck...
"Because it's not like he's out for three months, at least that's what I assume, but it's bad enough not to be able to continue and that's a big blow for him - and was, in the end, also a blow for us.."
It comes as Mohamed Salah was forced to sit out the encounter altogether, as a result of an injury sustained during Liverpool's midweek win over Galatasaray. The forward gestured that he needed to come off with around 20 minutes left to play in the 4-0 win, with Slot after confirming that he 'felt something.'
Speaking during his press conference this week, the head coach explained: "Unusual [he is injured], I think you expect the outcome so he is not available for tomorrow. Good thing for LFC 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 recovery 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."
Elsewhere, Giorgi Mamardashvili was deployed for the Brighton match as a result of Alisson suffering a fresh injury in the build-up. Taking to Instagram, the first-choice goalkeeper wrote: "Unfortunately I will be out of action for a while.
"Already working hard to be back stronger! Thank you for the support."
Alexander Isak, meanwhile, is is still yet to feature for Liverpool since sustaining a leg fracture during December's win over Tottenham Hotspur, while Conor Bradley has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury picked up against Arsenal in January.
Wataru Endo suffers a similar fate, having been stretchered off with a foot injury during Liverpool's trip to the Stadium of Light in February, while Giovanni Leoni is still on the road to recovery from his ACL injury in September.
Liverpool will now thankfully have a week's respite in the form of the March international break, before they return to FA Cup action against Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the competition on Saturday, April 4.
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