Reports from France have given an indication as to when Hugo Ekitike hopes to be back playing for Liverpool.
The striker ruptured his Achilles tendon in the defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in April, and there were initial projections that he’d be ruled out for nine months, with the devastating setback costing him the chance to play in the World Cup this summer.
A report from L’Equipe has detailed how the 23-year-old is progressing in his recovery from that serious injury, along with an estimated timeline of significant staging posts.
Ekitike has been through some ‘immense pain’ in the two months since that fateful PSG game, so much so that he’s turned a blind eye to many messages of support which have been sent to him, with France coach Didier Deschamps and Liverpool teammates regularly keeping in touch.
Feedback from medical staff at Anfield is said to be positive, with the striker working on his upper body strength so that he won’t have too much of a lag once he’s able to remove his protective boot and put weight on his foot.
The 23-year-old is aiming to resume training in the autumn and is targeting a return to competitive action for Christmas.
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The nature of Ekitike’s injury means that it’ll be a lengthy and gradual road back to full fitness, and Jermaine Pennant has warned that it could be ’50-50′ as to whether or not the striker gets back to the performance levels that he showed prior to that cruel body blow two months ago.
Most Liverpool fans will have accepted the reality that the Frenchman was likely to miss the first half of next season, which increases the dependency on Alexander Isak to avoid a recurrence of the persistent issues which dogged his first campaign at Anfield.
Even when the Reds’ number 22 is back playing – hopefully over the festive period – it’ll naturally take him a bit of time to once again pick up a rhythm, so we shouldn’t expect him to shoot the lights out as soon as he returns to the pitch.
However, if Ekitike can get back towards the levels that he showed throughout his first season on Merseyside, he’ll be an invaluable asset to Andoni Iraola’s side, and his contributions could be enormous in the spring months.
Here’s hoping that all progresses smoothly with the rest of his rehabilitation, and that he doesn’t suffer any further setbacks along the way. Whenever it happens, his return to action will be delightful to witness.
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