Arne Slot Provides A Hugo Ekitike Injury Update Ahead Of Thursday’s Trip To Arsenal

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has offered an injury update on striker Hugo Ekitike ahead of Thursday’s clash with Arsenal.

French international Ekitike, 23, missed the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Fulham due to a hamstring problem.

The issue has been described as ‘discomfort’ rather than anything more severe, and does not look to be a long-term injury.

But Liverpool’s top goalscorer this season remains a doubt for Thursday’s trip to league leaders Arsenal.

Arne Slot Provides Hugo Ekitike Injury Update

This week sees Liverpool head to the capital to take on table-toppers Arsenal at the Emirates.

When the sides met at Anfield Earlier this season, it was Liverpool who edged a tight affair 1-0 thanks to a sublime free kick from Dominik Szoboszlai.

But the two sides’ fortunes have diverged significantly since then, and it’s Arsenal who sit six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

And with Alexander Isak’s injury ruling him our for several months, Hugo Eikitke’s fitness has become especially important.

️ Arne Slot on whether Hugo Ekitike will be fit in time to face Arsenal on Thursday night:

“It’s always going to be a thin line and a difficult balance. If a player is not available [on Sunday], is he then available in four days?”

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Arne Slot said on Wednesday morning that Ekitike’s issue, while minor, may still keep him out of Thursday’s fixture.

“He’s not trained with us til now,” Slot explained.

“Let’s see if he can today. I said, two or three days ago when we played Fulham, that he’s not going to be out for long but, because game’s come so fast, he’s in between maybe training with the team or it may take him one or two days extra.”

Slot Says Liverpool Haven’t Given Up On Trophies This Season

Liverpool may be out of the Premier League title race, but they remain in the hunt for multiple trophies.

Arne Slot argues that his side are still capable of beating anyone on their day.

Having already overcome Thursday’s opponents in the reverse fixture, the Dutch coach believes beating Arsenal again would show they can still win silverware this season.

Slot said: “It would mean a lot. It tells you you can compete in the latter stages of the FA Cup and Champions League with any other team.

“We have shown that already, we beat Arsenal at home and other games we’ve beaten strong teams, but we also know that it is a special game for them.

“We have to be ready, they are in a positive vibe at the moment and it is obvious we aren’t.

“This club has shown so many times when they haven’t had the best league form they can still win a trophy.

“It is always possible because we have a good and talented group, we’ve shown this already this season.

“Real Madrid, Atletico, Aston Villa – look at their run – we’ve shown we can compete with almost every team.”

Defensive Unavailability Has Harmed Liverpool Season

There are plenty of narratives surrounding Liverpool’s lacklustre title defence this season.

But chief among them has been their porous and ever-changing defence.

Injuries and poor form mean Slot has rarely been able to name the same back-four for multiple games in a row.

At the weekend, he had just two senior centre-backs available in Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

“Am I happy with the number of options?” added Slot.

“Joe Gomez is back now, which is a big help. No manager in the world tells you he is happy they only have two fit centre-backs but we have Giovanni Leoni, an unbelievable talent, who is back next season.

“As much as has been said about the spending, it is not that there is no limitation to that spending. This club has always tried to do smart things.

“In an ideal world you have more than two centre-halves available but you have to accept that situation.

“I know Jurgen Klopp also had problems there and played midfielders there at times. Nat Phillips played a lot. So that has been Liverpool for all these years.”