Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike was forced off with an apparent leg injury during the game against Brighton & Hove Albion. The striker was replaced by Curtis Jones after just nine minutes, forcing Arne Slott to make changes to his line-up.
Ekitike appeared to have injured his foot in a clash with long-time Liverpool player James Milner and, although he attempted to continue, he was ultimately unable to continue. It remains to be seen whether the striker will join up with France next week after being called up for friendlies against Brazil and Colombia.
Liverpool have already started the game without Mohamed Salah and goalkeeper Alisson, who were sent off immediately after scoring against Galatasaray on Wednesday. Ekitike also scored a goal against the Turkish national team, scoring the second goal after setting up Salah to seal the victory on aggregate.
The Reds are also still without Alexander Isak, so Kodi Gakpo, who returned to the team in Salah’s place, stepped up to the front after Ekitike was replaced. Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoja were also options off the bench, but the slot instead allowed Jones to return to the team.
Five minutes later, Danny Welbeck took the lead with a header off an assist from Diego Gomez. Milos Kerkes equalized for the visitors after the 30th minute, converting a short header from Lewis Dunk to Bad Verbruggen.
Slot will provide updates on Equitique after the match. Speaking about Salah at Friday’s pre-match press conference, he said: “It’s unusual (for Salah to be injured). I think everyone is expecting a result, so he won’t be able to play tomorrow.
“The good thing for us is that we are going into the international break, but the bad news for Egypt is that he won’t be there. I hope that with what Mo has shown so far, he will recover faster than other players. He takes great care of his body, so history has shown that he can come back faster than other players. There are only two weeks left until we go again.”
The next match is the FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City, four days before the Champions League last-16 first leg against Paris Saint-Germain. They return to action in the Premier League three days later, away to Fulham, before welcoming PSG to Anfield for the second leg.
Liverpool then face Everton in the Merseyside derby before hosting Crystal Palace in April. The Champions League and FA Cup semi-finals could also be held this month.
