Liverpool held league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night, doing so with a depleted front line.
That’s because headline summer signing Alexander Isak faces a significant spell on the sidelines with a broken ankle, and Mohamed Salah is still away with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Arne Slot’s issues were further compounded by the question marks over Hugo Ekitike’s fitness, as the Frenchman was absent from the matchday squad that faced Fulham last weekend.
Hugo Ekitike injury latest
After a summer spend of £446m, Slot’s XI to face the Cottagers looked remarkably similar to last season, with only two newer faces – Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz – in the line-up.
Injuries meant the Reds’ boss had little say in that matter, which was the case against Arsenal, too, but he will be hoping to have at least one of his signings back for the visit of Barnsley on Monday night in Ekitike.
Arne Slot has provided an update on the fitness of Hugo Ekitike ahead of #ARSLIV 🗣️January 7, 2026
It does not seem like a forgone conclusion that the 23-year-old will be available for selection, however.
“He has not trained with us until now,” Slot informed the press on Wednesday morning. “Let’s see if he can today.
“I’ve said, I think two or three days ago when we played Fulham, that he is not going to be out for long, but because games come so fast, he is in between maybe training with the team, or it would take him one or two days extra.”
The Merseyside club confirmed that the striker missed their last game against Fulham with a case of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
Cody Gakpo led the line in Ekitike’s place at the weekend, notching what appeared to be a late winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time, before Harrison Reed levelled the game with an even later equaliser moments after.
For all the talk in the summer of how Isak and Ekitike were going to exist in the same squad, it seemed unlikely that Slot would need the services of a third top class striker.
But that is exactly what has happened over the last week, with Gakpo the only true option to fill in.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Liverpool should be able to see off League One side Barnsley without too much fuss in their FA Cup Third Round fixture, meaning they may not even need Ekitike back.
Ekitike is valued at €85m, according to Transfermarkt.
