Arne Slot has revealed that Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike is yet to undergo surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon injury.
Ekitike was forced off in the first half of Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final second leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night after slipping on the turf.
Following lengthy treatment, the Frenchman was stretchered off and replaced by Mohamed Salah and the severity of the injury was announced on Thursday, thus bringing Ekitike’s season to an end.
The 23-year-old will also miss this summer’s World Cup, having only broken into the senior national team at the start of the season.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Merseyside derby against Everton, Slot admitted the injury blow was “devastating”.
"He hasn't been operated on yet. It is devastating for him, coming to a new club and having such an impact straight away,” the Dutchman told reporters on Friday.
"Your first thoughts are always with him, missing out on so many special moments. He is not the first or last player who will experience this and many have come back stronger.
"I'm sure in 10, 15 years he will say this injury helped me to perform at an even higher level than before."
With Ekitike ruled out of Sunday’s derby, Alexander Isak is in line to start a Premier League game for the first time since December 3.
However, Slot has revealed that the club-record signing is not ready to play 90 minutes.
"I was saying that you cannot write the script that Alexander Isak is back from four months with injury when the other [Hugo Ekitike] is injured,” Slot added.
"It's nice to have Alex back, although we also know that he is not ready to play 90 minutes yet."
Liverpool visit the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time this weekend but have been dealt a blow with Joe Gomez ruled out of selection.
