LIVERPOOL, England — Hugo Ekitike was forced off with an injury in the first half of Liverpool‘s Champions League quarterfinal loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
The France striker appeared to hurt his right ankle when he slipped in the 27th minute of the second-leg match at Anfield.
After receiving medical treatment, it was quickly determined he could not carry on and was taken off the field on a stretcher. He was replaced by Mohamed Salah.
Salah had again begun the game on the bench for Arne Slot’s side, just as he did in the first leg last week.
Liverpool failed to mount a comeback after a 2-0 loss in the first leg in Paris last week, conceding two late goals form Ousmane Dembélé as PSG reached the semifinals 4-0 on aggregate.
Ekitike’s injury will be a concern for France ahead of this year’s World Cup and could also be a blow to Liverpool in its bid to secure Champions League qualification.
Ekitike has been one of Liverpool’s top players this season and has scored 19 goals for club and country. He scored for France in its 2-1 win against Brazil last month.
PSG’s Nuno Mendes also went off shortly before halftime for an unspecified issue, but he was able to leave the field unaided.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
