Arne Slot makes big claim about Hugo Ekitike after "devastating" injury for Liverpool star | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has made the big claim that he feels Hugo Ekitike can come back even stronger after the “devastating” news of his serious injury this week.

The France international has started well at Liverpool after his transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, but he now faces around nine months on the side-lines.

This means Ekitike will miss this summer’s World Cup, and most likely won’t get back on the pitch for Liverpool until midway through next season.

Slot admits it’s a big blow and that his thoughts are with the player, though he also made the bold prediction that he’s someone who could bounce back and keep on improving despite this setback…

Arne Slot on Hugo Ekitike

“Devastating for him,” Slot said in his press conference on Friday morning.

“Coming to a new club, having so much impact straight away. Playing against your old club in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with so much more to come for him in the summer.

“Your first thoughts are always with him being out for such a long time, missing out on so many special moments.

“But, he’s not the first and will not be the last player that experiences something like this in the start of his career, and there are so many examples of players that came back even stronger.

“That’s the challenge he has now and I’m 100%  sure he will be one of those that in 10-15 years time can say maybe this injury even helped me to become stronger and become even more ready to perform even at a higher level than I did before.”

Hugo Ekitike’s strong start at Liverpool

Ekitike impressed at Eintracht Frankfurt and he certainly took that form with him to Liverpool with a highly promising first season.

The 23-year-old is on 17 goals and five assists for the 2025/26 season, and one imagines he could easily have hit the 20-goal mark if he’d stayed fit.

Coming back from serious injuries like this is never easy, but Ekitike will surely benefit from Slot’s encouragement, while he’s also young enough that he should have a good chance of making a strong recovery and continuing to develop as both a player and an athlete in years to come.