Hugo Ekitike breaks silence on Liverpool injury blow as nervous wait lies ahead
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Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike was forced off during their 1-0 defeat away at Galatasaray as the 23-year-old faces a race to be fit for Saturday's clash with ChelseaLiverpool star Hugo Ekitike is seemingly confident that he has avoided an injury problem following their 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray. The 23-year-old limped out of their Champions League defeat late on with Arne Slot's side chasing the equaliser.Ekitike was left on the RAMS Park turf after stretching to retrieve a wayward pass from Dominik Szoboszlai, remaining down after the action.
His withdrawal came just minutes after the Dutchman rolled the dice to bring on Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah in a bid to inject life into a struggling attack.While there were glimpses, with a lot of the play coming down the Egyptian on the right, they didn't manage to snatch a point.READ MORE: Ibrahima Konate contract update as Liverpool defender 'offered' new dealREAD MORE: Galatasaray rub salt into Liverpool’s wounds with brutal 11-word digLiverpool complete their gruelling run of three consecutive away matches with a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Saturday.The defending Premier League champions will be hoping that Ekitike has avoided any long-term so he is involved after the France international made a bright start since his summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt.The Athletic's James Pearce took to social media to allay injury concerns, he tweeted: "Hugo Ekitike confident he only had cramp in his hamstring rather than anything more serious."Content cannot be displayed without consentLiverpool will limp into the showdown against Enzo Maresca's side on the back of their defeat in Turkey, which is a rarity in Slot's tenure after suffering back-to-back disappointments.Alisson Becker will miss the encounter after he was forced off late on while there is an anxious wait over Ekitike's fitness, with Liverpool facing the threat of losing their top goalscorer for Saturday's showdown."He felt something when he had to reach for the ball,” said Slot. "I think we all know which one it was when we were trying to force something."I think at that moment in time, on the other side there was someone on the floor as well, so the referee blew his whistle and I wasn't even thinking we had an injury, but Hugo felt something."After the game, that's always the difficult thing with these moments when players feel like it is not too bad, but when you just walk around it is something different than when you make a sprint or have to shoot on target."He said he couldn't continue so we had to take him off.
Let's see how he is for the weekend."For the latest news and breaking news, visit liverpoolecho.co.uk/all-about/liverpool-fc. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.Follow us on Twitter @LivEchoLFC - the official Liverpool ECHO LFC Twitter account - for all the latest LFC news as it happens in real time.We're also on Facebook/LiverpoolEchoLFC - your must-see LFC news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.Listen to our podcasts by searching for 'Blood Red' wherever you get your podcasts.Sign up for one of the Liverpool Echo's free daily and weekly newsletters on Liverpool FC by clicking here.