Empire of the Kop
·16. April 2026
“I’m not alone” – Hugo Ekitike posts defiant Instagram message after devastating injury setback

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Yahoo sportsEmpire of the Kop
·16. April 2026

Hugo Ekitike has taken to social media with a defiant message for Liverpool supporters after the devastating injury that he suffered earlier this week.
Just before the half-hour mark in the 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on Tuesday night, the 23-year-old went to ground with nobody around him, with Stephen Warnock immediately noticing that he was ‘in agony’.
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The Merseyside club have since confirmed (via liverpoolfc.com) that the forward has suffered a rupture of the Achilles tendon and will miss the remainder of this season, as well as the World Cup this summer, in which he had been line to feature for France until fate cruelly intervened this week.
It’s a gutting blow for Ekitike, who’ll now miss the opportunity to play on football’s biggest stage and will also be deprived of several months of his career, but he’s maintaining a defiant stance with his message to the public.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday afternoon, the Liverpool striker posted: ‘It’s hard, maybe even unfair… but I’m grateful this is happening to me here, among you. I’m not alone. Your strength and your love will be my driving force. See you again soon, Anfield ❤️’
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Sadly, Ekitike is certainly not the first Reds player to suffer a major injury this season, with Giovanni Leoni rupturing his ACL, Alexander Isak enduring a broken leg, Conor Bradley sustaining a serious knee injury and Wataru Endo sidelined with an ankle problem.
All of those players will have no doubt been hugely appreciative of the support they’ve received from everyone inside the Liverpool dressing room, along with the wider fan base, as they strive to overcome the physical and psychological trauma of their respective injuries.
Missing out on the World Cup will make it all the harder to bear for the France international, who’d been enjoying a terrific debut campaign at Anfield with 17 goals to his name, and he may well have hit the 20 mark if it weren’t for his horrible setback on Tuesday.
Some reports have indicated that Ekitike could be sidelined for as long as nine months, in which case he wouldn’t play again until early 2027, but hopefully if his recovery goes well, we may see him returning to action sooner than that.
Whenever he is passed fit to play again, we’ll all be absolutely delighted to have him back on the pitch and hopefully back to the levels that he’s shown throughout his first season with Liverpool.
You can view Ekitike’s Instagram post below, via hekitike:
View this post on Instagram A post shared by @hekitike
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