Hugo Ekitike injury update: Arne Slot makes bold eight-word claim after Liverpool's loss to Brighton

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has made a bold claim about Hugo Ekitike's injury following the Frenchman's tearful withdrawal in Saturday's 2-1 Premier League loss to Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Reds were condemned to a terrible 10th defeat of the top-flight campaign on the South Coast, where two Danny Welbeck strikes either side of a Milos Kerkez response sunk the Premier League champions.

With Alexander Isak still working his way back from a leg fracture and Mohamed Salah also sidelined, Ekitike unsurprisingly led the line for Liverpool at Wembley, fresh from finding the back of the net against Galatasaray in Wednesday's 4-0 Champions League win.

However, Ekitike's race was run with just eight minutes gone, as the Frenchman came off worse in a collision with ex-Red James Milner and cut an emotional figure as he left the pitch.

Slot's lack of attacking alternatives forced the Dutchman to introduce Curtis Jones for Ekitike, whose prospective absence would leave Liverpool without any out-and-out strikers.

Even 20-year-old Jayden Danns - who memorably helped Liverpool win the 2023-24 EFL Cup under Jurgen Klopp - is out of contention at the moment, having picked up another injury earlier this month.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot: 'Hugo Ekitike could play tomorrow'

Slot allayed fears over Ekitike's condition, though, suggesting that the striker had only suffered from a dead leg and would be able to return to the pitch as early as tomorrow if necessary.

"Hugo could play tomorrow if he had to," Slot told journalists in his post-game press conference. "It was a dead leg. It was a collision that led to him going off. It was not helpful."

Slot previously spoke to TNT Sports about Ekitike's condition, saying: "Every game you have to miss is something you're upset about.

"Him having to go off so early, not being able to help the team with something which is just a bit of bad luck and not something that's going to be keeping him out for three months, as far as we know. It was bad enough to not be able to continue and it's a big blow for him, and in the end was a big blow for us too."

Ekitike has been called up to the France squad for their friendly matches with Brazil and Colombia later this month, and there is no suggestion that the forward will have to withdraw from the Bleus ranks.

Has Arne Slot used up the Liverpool rope?

Salah's absence, Isak's perpetual fitness issues and Ekitike's rotten luck all contributed to Liverpool's downfall on Saturday, but Slot is not receiving much sympathy from disgruntled Reds supporters.

Liverpool are just the seventh Premier League champions to lose as many as 10 games in a single season, and when they should have been chasing an equaliser late on, Brighton looked the more likely to score a third.

There is little chance of Slot leaving before the season comes to a close, and the Dutchman could still end the year with an FA Cup and Champions League trophy, however fanciful that may be.

But failure to qualify for the Champions League after a £450m summer spending spree would be a major blot on his notebook, and one that may be too big a transgression to ignore.