Liverpool may not risk Hugo Ekitike against Chelsea this weekend despite the striker being confident he only had cramp when he was forced off against Galatasaray.
The France international has endured a somewhat mixed 10 days amid what has been an otherwise superb start to life since arriving on Merseyside in the summer.
After scoring his fifth goal in eight appearances for his new side in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton, the striker was promptly sent off after a second yellow card for removing his shirt in celebration.
He missed last weekend’s trip to Crystal Palace as a result as Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season. Ekitike returned to the starting XI on Tuesday against Galatasaray in the Champions League but was forced off after 68 minutes with what appeared to be a hamstring issue.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt star was hopeful the issue was cramp rather than something more serious.
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But while the player may have felt the issue had subsided by the time he had returned to the dressing room on Wednesday, scans could still reveal further damage.
‘Whether it is cramp or something more serious, a player may or may not know it himself,’ Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics, told Metro.
‘If it was a very low level muscular strain the player would feel that pinch and discomfort initially that is causing an issue in the game. That can subside very quickly in the changing room afterwards and players can feel that maybe it was just a cramp and sometimes that can be the case.
‘But in other scenarios it could be there was some minor fibre breakdown there and that would be a low level strain. Generally the best way when the injuries are that innocuous and the player thinks he or she feels okay, the club will send them for a scan and have a look to see if there is any fibre disruption or any swelling around the area. That’s how they will diagnose.
‘But they would be looking to avoid any risks. Especially with the international break coming.’
Alisson injury still being assessed by Liverpool
Alisson Becker was also forced off in the defeat in Turkey with also what appeared to be a hamstring injury with Giorgi Mamardashvili brought into replace him.
Arne Slot revealed after the game his goalkeeper will not play this weekend having been left out of the Brazil squad for friendlies against South Korea and Japan.
Alisson has been sidelined for significant periods of the last two campaigns with hamstring issues, missing 15 games last season and 17 during the 2023-24 season. Chelsea on Saturday will be the 56th game the shot stopper has missed through a combination of various muscle injuries, concussions and illness.
‘It was probably quite an easy one to diagnose for Liverpool,’ Smith continued. Given the importance of the Chelsea game and how important he is they wouldn’t risk it unless he is 100 per cent.
‘Goalkeepers are like an elastic band. They stand in goal then have to spring out and the amount of force and energy that is required for them to do their job exceptionally well is very high.
‘They are probably some of the most powerful athletes out there on the field. They don’t have to have the same endurance capabilities as an athlete that runs 10 or 12 km in a game. But they have to be really powerful and really explosive in almost every element of their job.’
Liverpool are still to determine the severity of Alisson’s injury but the timing of the October international break is helpful on this occasion.
The champions host Manchester United in their first game back on 19 October but anything other than a minor grade one hamstring injury is likely to put his involvement in that game in real doubt.
‘If it is a grade one injury, recovery will be between one to three weeks,’ Smith said. ‘A grade two will be looking at three to six weeks. So they will have to assess things and do their work to determine the severity.’