Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has described Hugo Ekitike's Achilles injury as "devastating" but has backed the striker to "come back even stronger."
Ekitike was forced off after 31 minutes in Liverpool's Champions League quarterfinal defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday and the club have since confirmed the France international has suffered a serious Achilles injury.
The problem will keep Ekitike out of this summer's World Cup and is likely to sideline him for a minimum of nine months, limiting the 23-year-old's involvement next season.
"He hasn't been operated on yet," Slot said. "It is devastating for him, coming to a new club and having such an impact straight away. Your first thoughts are always with him, being out for such a long time and missing out on so many special moments.
"He is not the first and he will not be last player who will experience something like this at the start of his career and there are so many examples of players that have come back even stronger. That's the challenge he has now and I'm 100% sure in 10-15 years he will maybe even say this injury helped me become even stronger and even more ready to perform at an even higher level than before."
Hugo Ekitike will be sidelined for a lengthy period due to Achilles injury. Getty With Ekitike injured, there is now more pressure on fellow summer signing Alexander Isak to deliver. The Sweden international has struggled for both form and fitness since his £125 million ($167.82m) move from Newcastle United last summer and made his first start in four months against PSG, having worked his way back from a broken fibula.
"First of all, it is a good thing we have signed two No 9s because there were a lot of people who were debating why we signed two No. 9s," Slot said.
"We thought maybe it's a smart idea not to be the only club in the world that has only one No. 9 and that's why we signed two and now all of a sudden that looks good and now people are maybe questioning if we should sign another No. 9.
- Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike: Achilles injury is 'hard, maybe unfair' - Isak needs to step up for Liverpool after Ekitike injury
"Someone said to me the day after [PSG] you cannot write the script that on the day Alex is back after four months the other one leaves the pitch with a long term injury but it is a good thing Alex is back now even more, although it wouldn't be the first game I have to play without a particular type in a particular position. I have had many games this season where I didn't have a right full back available, for example. It is nice to have Alex back but we also know he is not ready to play 90 yet."