Liverpool's Attack in Jeopardy Amid Hugo Ekitike Injury Concerns
Liverpool’s summer planning has been hit with a blunt reminder of football’s harsh realities: there is no guarantee Hugo Ekitike will ever be the same player again.
The 24-year-old forward, signed with an eye on the future of the club’s attack, is not expected back in competitive action until at least Christmas after suffering serious Achilles damage in April during the Champions League clash against his former club Paris Saint-Germain. He is currently with the senior squad on the pre-season tour of the United States, working through rehabilitation while the rest of the group builds sharpness and rhythm.
The contrast is striking. While teammates play their way into form, Ekitike is fighting just to get back on the pitch.
Gallas sounds the alarm
For former France international William Gallas, the nature of the injury alone is enough to force Liverpool into some uncomfortable conversations.
“I didn't have Hugo Ekitike’s injury, but I know it's very difficult to come back 100% after it,” Gallas said. “Most of the players didn't make it.”
That line hangs heavy. Achilles injuries have ended or altered countless careers, and Gallas did not sugar-coat the risk. Ekitike has age on his side, but even that, Gallas warned, is no guarantee.
“I know he's still young, but he will have to take his time. Liverpool may have to think twice too. They may have to bring a new player, because nobody knows if he's going to be back in his best.”
Liverpool are already in the market for a right-winger to replace the departed Mohamed Salah, a monumental task on its own. Gallas’ point cuts deeper: the club may not be looking for just one forward this summer, but two.
The pressure on Ekitike to justify his place in a reshaped front line was always going to be significant. Now, the first challenge is simply to prove his body can withstand the demands of elite football again.
“Listen, we know when we get big injuries, it’s very difficult to come back to your best shape,” Gallas added.
He reached for a recent, painful example.
“Look what happened to Wesley Fofana from Chelsea. Before, when he was at Leicester, he had a season that was just unbelievable. And then he got that bad injury. And from that bad injury, he never came back to his best performance. It could be the same for Ekitike.”
That comparison will sting. Fofana’s trajectory once pointed towards the very top before injuries repeatedly dragged him back. Gallas’ warning is not that Ekitike will definitely follow the same path, but that Liverpool cannot build their plans on hope alone.
Belief in Jacquet at the back
If Gallas is cautious about Ekitike, he is far more bullish about another of Liverpool’s summer moves.
Speaking to iPredicta, the former defender backed new centre-back Jeremy Jacquet to step into the void left by Ibrahima Konate, who departed after establishing himself as a key partner to Virgil van Dijk. Jacquet arrived from Rennes in a £60million deal and will be asked to grow up quickly in one of the most unforgiving positions on the pitch.
“Jeremy Jacquet is a big boy,” Gallas said. “He's a big boy and he's got quality. If you go to Liverpool, you know he has got quality.”
There is no ambiguity there. For Gallas, the transfer fee and the destination tell their own story. The question now is not whether Jacquet has talent, but how quickly he can translate it into Premier League consistency.
“So now it's always the same question: you need to adapt and play alongside some of the best players,” he continued.
Few centre-backs in world football offer a better guide than Van Dijk. Gallas believes that partnership could fast-track Jacquet’s development.
“Virgil van Dijk can help him a lot. Yeah, he needs some time, but I think he can do the job of replacing Ibrahima Konate.”
Liverpool, then, face a split picture as the season approaches. At the back, a clear succession plan: Konate out, Jacquet in, Van Dijk still the anchor. In attack, uncertainty: Salah gone, a right-winger still to be signed, and a major doubt hanging over how – and when – Hugo Ekitike can truly join the fight.
