Tough afternoon on the south coast felt like another setback in a frustrating run for Liverpool, but new footage of Hugo Ekitike offers some relief — his injury against Brighton may not be as serious as first feared.
Just days after being forced off early in visible distress, the French forward has been seen joining his national team. A video shared by L’Equipe on X shows our No.22 linking up with France with no obvious signs of a major issue.
This matches what Arne Slot said immediately after the Brighton loss, noting the injury wasn’t expected to be long-term.“Hugo could play tomorrow if he had to.
It was a dead leg. It was a collision that led to him going off. It was not helpful.”Considering how alarming it looked live — with the 23-year-old leaving the pitch in tears — this is welcome news as we approach a crucial stretch of fixtures.
Even if minor, the injury clearly affected the game.Ekitike’s early exit disrupted the attacking shape that had been promising after the midweek win over Galatasaray, forcing a reshuffle that left Liverpool short on options and balance for most of the match.
Brighton fans even jeered as he left, despite it being clear he was struggling after the collision with James Milner.
It was a moment that captured the frustration of the afternoon: how quickly things fell apart and how little went our way once the early setback hit.
The silver lining is that, while the defeat still hurts, Ekitike’s presence at Clairefontaine indicates we won’t be without one of our key attacking options for long.
