Liverpool injury crisis worsens as £69m forward limps off v Brighton | OneFootball

Hugo Ekitike limped off the pitch during Liverpool's Premier League clash against Brighton on Saturday.

The Frenchman was expected to be the Reds' focal point in attack with Cody Gakpo alongside him.

However, within the first three minutes of the game, Ekitike found himself injured and was forced off the pitch which has just added to the Reds' woes.

How Hugo Ekitike got injured against Brighton

Things seemed to start off well for Liverpool with Slot's men on top of their opponents up until Ekitike limped off.

The Frenchman went toe-to-toe with former Liverpool star James Milner and, unfortunately for the striker, he was the one who came out of the challenge worse off.

Initially, it looked like Ekitike had just suffered a dead-leg with Liverpool's physios putting him back onto the pitch.

However, it was clear from the faces that the striker was pulling that he wasn't fit to play which resulted in Curtis Jones coming on to replace him.

This was quite a peculiar change as Slot deployed his team in a 4-2-2-2 formation which meant that Jones was clearly coming on in midfield.

And, seeing as though Florian Wirtz was the only player on the pitch who's played as a striker, he was forced to go upfront.

Hugo Ekitike has added to Liverpool's long list of injuries

At the start of the week, Liverpool's bill of health looked fairly clean with only Conor Bradley and Alexander Isak absent from their upcoming games.

However, fast forward to Saturday and two of the Reds' star men in Mohamed Salah and Alisson are also out injured.

Neither of them are expected to be massive issues but, seeing as though Alisson posted a message to his Instagram account stating that he'd be out for a while, it remains to be seen whether or not that is actually the case.

The 2025-26 season has been cursed for Liverpool with the international break likely to offer Slot a bit of time to reset and ensure that his team are ready to beat Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League tie.

Otherwise, this could be one of the worst seasons that Liverpool have endured in recent memory.

It's unclear how long Ekitike will be out for as a result of this injury but, since he was forced off the pitch, it doesn't feel like it'll be a short-term thing.