Liverpool star Hugo Ekitike is targeting a return by the end of the year as he continues his recovery from an Achilles injury. The French forward was injured during a Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain in April.
Injury Details and Recovery
Further testing revealed that the 23-year-old had ruptured an Achilles tendon, with that injury set to see him ruled out for the remainder of 2026 and would see him miss the World Cup. Ekitike has already undergone surgery for the issue but is still expected to be sidelined for some time. The forward has now set a timeline of when he wants to make his return.
According to L’Equipe, Ekitike has ambitions of returning around Christmas time, having been left in ‘immense pain’ over the past couple of months. As part of attempting to protect his own mental health, he has apparently pretended that football 'ceased to exist'.
Club and National Team Support
Nevertheless, Liverpool are pleased with the progress that Ekitike has made so far, with the striker working on his upper body strength in an effort to make his return quicker once he is fit enough to play.
Taking to social media after his injury blow was confirmed, Ekitike wrote: "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."
France boss Didier Deschamps was among those to have sent Ekitike a message of support following his injury. He said: "The severity of his injury will unfortunately prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and participating in the World Cup. Hugo is one of the dozen young players who made their international debuts in recent months. He integrated perfectly into the squad, both on and off the pitch. This injury is a massive blow for him, obviously, but also for the French national team. His disappointment is immense."
He added: "Hugo will return to his best level, I am certain of it. But I wanted to show him all my support, as well as that of the entire staff. We know he will be fully behind the French team, and we are all thinking of him very much."
Ekitike's Liverpool Career
Ekitike arrived at Liverpool last summer from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of £69m. He enjoyed a positive debut campaign at Anfield, having scored on 17 occasions before his campaign was curtailed by injury.
