Hugo Ekitike oozes confidence: Believes he'll be back sooner than you think | OneFootball

Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike reportedly believes he'll be back much sooner than expected. The Reds could really use this.

Liverpool have been missing Hugo Ekitike this season. Though, they knew that would be the case going in as they didn't move to replace the Frenchman in the summer.

Instead, Alexander Isak has been the sole senior striking option in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns are there as options but both are wildly inexperienced compared to the rest of the forward options.

Ekitike picked up a serious Achilles injury towards the end of last season and it's kept him out ever since. It will continue to keep him out, too, and Andoni Iraola's comments in August hinted at a particularly lengthy absence still.

The striker himself, however, appears to view things quite differently.

Hugo Ektike is coming back

L'Equipe reports that Ekitike has flown to the US in order to seek a specialist over his injury. It's an incredibly optimistic piece, claiming the player can jog and is starting to get more movement back.

It also states that Ekitike himself feels he could be back training in November and actually playing by December. That does seem pretty unlikely, admittedly, but no one has ever accused the player of lacking confidence in himself.

To be back training next month would be quite incredible, given the nature of the injury. To then be back playing elite-level football just one month later? It would be the best case scenario for Liverpool - and arguably better than they could have ever considered likely.

We'll just have to wait and see, then. Liverpool desperately need Ekitike back in order to significantly boost this squad but they also need him back consistently and ready to impact the latter stages of the season.

They will not rush him, in other words. This will be a drawn-out process and one that makes sure Ekitike returns to his best, first and foremost, rather than one where he merely returns as quick as possible.