Injury Update: Alisson Becker and Hugo Ekitike
Liverpool suffered a double injury blow during their 1-0 defeat to Fenerbahçe at RAMS Park in the Champions League. Goalkeeper Alisson Becker was forced off in the second half after denying Victor Osimhen with a crucial one-on-one save. Shortly after, forward hugo Ekitike also had to be substituted.
Speaking after the match, manager Arne Slot expressed serious concerns about alisson’s condition. “When he sprinted back he felt something. I cannot tell you [exactly] because I am not a physio, but normally when a player sprints back, feels something, goes to the floor and doesn’t come back onto the pitch [it’s not good],” Slot explained. He added, “If my player is on the floor, I nine out of 10 times fear the worst - and by the worst I mean he cannot continue. That’s what happened with Alisson.”
Slot indicated Alisson is highly unlikely to feature in Saturday’s Premier League match against Chelsea, stating, “Normally, he will not be able to play Saturday. That’s 99.9 per cent – I’ve already said 100 per cent, but let’s make it 99.9 [although] I think it’s 100.”
Ekitike’s injury occurred on 68 minutes in Istanbul after he went down while stretching for a forward pass. Slot confirmed the forward will be assessed, saying, “He felt something when he had to reach for the ball… He said he couldn’t continue so we had to take him off. Let’s see how he is for the weekend.” Slot noted the difficulty in immediately gauging the severity of injuries, explaining, ”After the game, that’s always the difficult thing with these moments when players feel like it is not too bad, but when you just walk around it is something different than when you make a sprint or have to shoot on target.”
Both players will undergo evaluation by the club’s medical staff to determine the extent of their injuries and their potential recovery timelines.
