An injury expert has delivered a devastating verdict on Hugo Ekitike after the Liverpool striker was stretchered off against Paris Saint-Germain.
Ekitike went down without any contact during the first half of the PSG clash, which Liverpool lost 2-0 at Anfield and 4-0 on aggregate.
That prompted immediate concern, with Liverpool medical staff rushing on to the pitch to treat the France striker.
He went down clutching his Achilles, though manager Arne Slot refused to comment on the severity of the injury in his post-match interview.
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"He's not so good. I think we can all see that it didn't look good," he said.
"Let's wait and see what it could all be. But we could all see it didn't look good. In the second half, he went home, so we haven't seen him yet."
An additional concern for Ekitike will be that the 2026 World Cup starts in under two months' time.
Injury analyst FPL Physio has now given their verdict on the exact nature of Ekitike's injury ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
They wrote on Twitter: "Ekitike has been stretchered off with what seems to be an Achilles rupture.
"Moments before Ekitike falls to the ground, he steps back on his right leg to start his acceleration (see first photo in comments).
"This is normally how people tend to rupture their Achilles.
"You can see him immediately grabbing his Achilles, and the physios assessing him also seem to focus on the lower leg or Achilles. At some point it looks like Ekitike is pointing towards his Achilles.
"The best we can hope for is a severe partial rupture or some sort of ankle/lower leg fracture, as that would be way better."
A full Achilles rupture can take between nine to 12 months of recovery time, though that timeline can be longer depending on the severity of the injury.
Ekitike's injury coincides with Alexander Isak's return to fitness after a broken leg.
Isak scored his second Premier League goal for Liverpool in the 2-1 win over Tottenham in December, but suffered the injury after a collision with defender Cristian Romero.
He returned to action earlier this month and played the second half against PSG at Anfield.
Topics:Â Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool, Champions League
Ryan Smart