Arne Slot press conference - Hugo Ekitike injury update as new Liverpool player ruled out of derby

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The Reds boss will be with us a 9am.But before Slot is quizzed about Liverpool's first-ever trip to Everton's new home, he is likely to be asked for his reaction to the devastating that top goalscorer Hugo Ekitike is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an Achilles tendon rupture.The striker sustained the serious injury in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second-leg 2-0 home loss to Paris Saint-Germain, which ends the Reds' hopes of silverware this season.The defending champions must now focus on sealing a top-five finish in the Premier League to secure qualification for next season's Champions League.And they would go a long way to achieving that with victory at their city rivals.As well as questions about the Blues, expect Slot to be asked over the fitness of Alexander Isak, who was restricted to 45 minutes against PSG in midweek, and whether first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker is any close to a return from a hamstring injury.Ian Doyle is at the AXA Training Centre to bring you live updates from the press conference.‌Today09:26 BSTSlot on Jayden DannsHe has been out for such a long time and now he's getting back with the under-21s getting some playing time.But he's not even played 90 mins for U21s let alone play a Premier League game.He has worked so hard and I've seen him around, he has been so unlucky to be out such a long time. Really like him to be back.Today09:25 BSTSlot on intensityIt's definitely helpful most of our players are available and we're now only playing once a week.Most of our players have shown they can play every three games but not all of them can.Either they get injured or their performance drops a little bit.From that perspective it's maybe good we are not playing in Europe anymore but I'd DEFINITELY prefer to be still in as it gives the players more energy.Today09:22 BSTSlot on intensity of PSG gameDon't think it will affect us (v Everton).

I know we have lost a lot of games after European and away from home, and a few of them were 12.30s on the Saturday after Wednesday which is difficult for any team.Good thing for us is that we played on Tuesday and now it's not a game until Sunday.Today09:20 BSTSlot on possibly selling players in summerLast year we made quite a lot of signings and that's why we traded that much.In four windows had net spend of £150m. Lot of people were debating why we signed two, now it looks like a good (idea), now people are saying we should sign another in the summer.Someone said to me the day after that you cannot write the script that on the day Alex is back on first start the other leaves pitch with a long-term injury.Even more a good thing that Alex is back but wouldn't be the first time I didn't have someone available in a certain position, such as right-back.Alex we know is not ready to play 90 yet.Today09:15 BSTSlot on characterThey showed a lot of character against PSG.

It's not the stadium that makes the difference, it's the players and the fans can have an impact on the players.Today09:14 BSTSlot on no more slip-upsWe didn't want to lose to City or PSG. It's been a tough season for Liverpool."Today08:42 BSTFlorian Wirtz says Liverpool players 'owe' fans and club Florian Wirtz says the Liverpool squad owe it to the club and the fans to secure Champions League football next season.The Reds exited Europe's premier competition at the quarter-final stage on Tuesday night as holders Paris Saint-Germain won 2-0 at Anfield to triumph 4-0 across the two legs.And having been knocked out of the FA Cup earlier this month by Manchester City at the same stage, Wirtz believes the players must finish the term strongly to ensure they don't miss out on the Champions League,“The focus goes completely to the end of the season for the league,” the £116m summer signing from Bayern Leverkusen told the club's website.“We have to play [in the] Champions League next season, we owe this to the club and to the fans."We will give our best, like we did today, and hopefully we can make minimum the top five."We tried everything.