Liverpool lost for the second time in a row, falling to Galatasaray in their Champions League match on Tuesday evening. The Reds went to Turkey hoping to recover from their last-gasp loss to Crystal Palace last weekend.
However, they were unable to gain anything from the match at Rams Park, losing narrowly. Victor Osimhen’s penalty in the 15th minute was the difference between the two teams, with the home side winning 1-0.
To make matters worse for Liverpool, two of its crucial players, Alisson Becker and Hugo Ekitike, were both pulled out in the second half due to injury, and their future availability is uncertain.
Arne Slot provides an update on Alisson and Huge Ekitike’s injuries.
Following the encounter, Arne Slot provided updates on the Liverpool duo’s ailments. According to the Liverpool Echo, he stated this about Alisson:
“I can’t tell you because I’m not a doctor, but generally when a player sprints back and feels something, goes to the floor and doesn’t return to the pitch – which they did 112 times while being hurt and returning to the pitch without discomfort – our players don’t do this.
“So, if one of our players is on the floor nine times out of ten, I fear the worst, and by the worst, I mean that he will be unable to continue, as Alisson did. He will not be able to play on Saturday, 99.9% [sure], and I have already mentioned 100.”
On Ekitike, Slot stated: “He sensed something when he had to reach for the ball, and I believe we all know when it was. When we were attempting to force anything, I believed I couldn’t last that long; on the opposite side, there was someone on the floor as well; the referee sounded his whistle, and I wasn’t thinking we had an injury; nonetheless, Hugo felt something.
“And after the game, that’s always the difficult thing with these situations, when people think, yeah, it’s not that bad, but when you simply go around with something new and make a spin, you have to fire another one from the target. He stated he couldn’t go on, so we had to remove him off. Let us watch how he replies.”
Injury Expert Casts Verdict on How Long They’ll Be Out
After studying film of the duo’s injuries, injury specialist @physioscout has forecasted how long they will be out of play.
They predict that Alisson, one of the top goalkeepers in the world, sustained a grade 1 or grade 2 hamstring injury. This will keep him out of action for 2-6 weeks, but if it is more serious and he has sustained a grade 3 hamstring injury, he might miss more than two months.
As for Ekitike, assuming it was hamstring soreness, he will only be out for up to a week and might be fit for Liverpool’s Premier League match against Chelsea this weekend.
The injury expert did admit, however, that hamstring strains often require at least two weeks to recuperate. If the Frenchman suffers a grade 1 or grade 2 injury, he would miss 2-6 weeks, whereas a grade 3 injury may keep him out of play for several months, like Alisson did.
Giorgi Mamardashvili is Alisson’s backup custodian and will fill in for him while he is out. Liverpool will rely more heavily on Alexander Isak if Ekitike is ruled out for an extended period of time.
xz
