Liverpool Confirm Devastating Ekitiké Injury—Could His Career Be Affected?
The worst fears of Liverpool have been confirmed: Hugo Ekitiké has ruptured the Achilles tendon in his right foot, will miss the 2026 World Cup and could potentially be sidelined for the remainder of the year.
Ekitiké slipped on the turf during Tuesday night’s Champions League defeat against Paris Saint-Germain when there were no opposition players near him. He clutched his heel, grimaced in pain and was tended to by concerned players—both teammates and from the opposition—before he was stretchered off the field.
On Thursday, Liverpool revealed the injury to be serious. A statement from the club explained that “scans on the issue have subsequently confirmed a rupture of the Achilles tendon.”
Ekitiké will miss this summer’s World Cup with France, which would have been his first international tournament after debuting with Les Bleus last year.
Ekitiké’s Debut Liverpool Season Ends Prematurely
It’s hard, maybe even unfair… but I’m grateful this is happening to me here, among you. I’m not alone. Your strength and your love will be my driving force. See you again soon, Anfield ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uV3c6PREAv
— Heki (@hekitike9) April 16, 2026
The 23-year-old, bought from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer in a deal worth up to $107 million (£79 million), is the only new Liverpool signing that could be considered a success.
Where Alexander Isak lacked fitness and soon got injured, and Florian Wirtz struggled to adapt to the Premier League from the Bundesliga, Ekitiké had no such issues. In 45 games, he scored 17 goals and registered a further six assists—15 goal contributions in the Premier League alone. Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah are Liverpool’s next highest scorers on 12 and 11 respectively.
“It’s hard, maybe even unfair,” he posted on social media after the news. “But I’m grateful this is happening to me here, among you [fans]. I’m not alone. Your strength and your love will be my driving force.”
The timing of Isak’s return from a broken leg—the PSG this week was his first start in the comeback process—has come at an important time. But with Isak still limited in what minutes he can play, the record signing may struggle to fill Ekitiké’s shoes right away, or even at all this season.
Ekitiké Facing Lengthy Layoff
Ekitiké was in a bay way when it happened. / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
A ruptured Achilles is one of soccer’s very worst injuries and early estimates are that Ekitiké may not be back to playing until 2027. His recovery time could fall anywhere from nine to 12 months.
Once recovered, the bigger issues is what kind of level he can play at and whether this injury causes irreparable damage to his career—either directly as a result of physical limitations, or otherwise through loss of momentum and the mental toll.
Achilles Injuries in Sport: Recovery Time, Career Afterwards
Liverpool fans have been here before. Former Reds left back Fábio Aurélio ruptured his Achilles during a Champions League match in April 2007. There was initial hope the Brazilian would return in time for preseason that summer, but his comeback was delayed to September. Even then, he didn’t resume playing consistently until the December, eight months after the initial injury.
Aurélio never really recovered his career. He eventually left Liverpool in 2012 after several more injury-plagued years and was effectively retired by an ACL tear in his early 30s. However, he had also suffered injuries long before his Achilles rupture.
A more recent example in the Premier League is Callum Hudson-Odoi, whose Achilles ruptured during his breakout season at Chelsea in 2018–19. He managed to recover in five months and remained in west London until 2023, without ever hitting the heights his pre-injury potential suggested.
Hudson-Odoi has managed to carve out a Premier League career with Nottingham Forest but does not start every game, while his goals and assists output is limited for a winger.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has never hit the heights expected of him. / Shaun Brooks/CameraSport/Getty Images
It is perhaps more difficult for an explosive player who relies on quick bursts or changes of direction to recover to the same level they were at before. It may be that Ekitiké ultimately has to find a way to adapt his style to make himself as effective as possible in a potential new normal.
Hudson-Odoi’s ex-Chelsea teammate, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, oddly got the same injury at the same time. He was sidelined for much longer—almost a year—and suffered on his return to action. “I came back from injury but didn’t feel myself, didn’t feel powerful, wasn’t running past people and felt like I lost a lot of muscle and power,” the player recalled in 2021. He is now with AC Milan, but fewer than half his Serie A appearances so far this season have been starts.
Slightly earlier, Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny had an Achilles rupture that sidelined from May to December 2018, around seven months.
David Beckham’s dreams of going to a fourth World Cup with England were ended by a torn Achilles in 2010, doing the damage while on loan with AC Milan from LA Galaxy three months before the tournament. He traveled to the tournament only as a staff member and made his comeback after a six-month recovery. It’s hard to know what lasting impact it had, because Beckham was already 35 years of age and playing at a less intense level in Major League Soccer.
Kobe Bryant had an Achilles injury in 2013. / Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
In the NBA, Kobe Bryant’s torn Achilles in April 2013 was maybe the beginning of the end. His body wasn’t the same after and follow up injuries forced the LA Laker to miss almost all of 2013–14 season and much of 2014–15 as well. The 2015–16 NBA season was his last.
Kevin Durant’s Achilles injury during the 2019 NBA Finals caused him to miss the whole of 2019–20 and half of 2020–21, a total absence and recovery spanning 552 days. The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum made his return from a ruptured Achilles last month, after 10 months sidelined.
