Liverpool boss Arne Slot hopes Alexander Isak’s return can mitigate Hugo Ekitike loss

LONDON – Liverpool striker Alexander Isak’s return from injury could soften the blow of Hugo Ekitike’s long-term absence, manager Arne Slot said on April 17 ahead of his side’s English Premier League meeting with Merseyside rivals Everton on April 19.

Ekitike, the top scorer for the Reds this season, was forced off during their 2-0 home defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on April 14, after slipping on the turf and rupturing his Achilles tendon.

Liverpool signed Isak from Newcastle United for a British-record £125 million (S$214.8 million) and the Frenchman from Eintracht Frankfurt for up to £69 million in the same transfer window in 2025.

Slot felt that it was a good decision to sign two central strikers.

“We thought it was smart not to be the only club to have one No. 9,” the Dutchman said on April 17.

“Someone said to me that you cannot write the script... that on the day Isak is back after four months on his first start, and the other (Ekitike) leaves the pitch with a long-term injury.”

Liverpool confirmed on April 16 that the France international will miss the rest of the season and the World Cup this summer.

“He hasn’t been operated on yet. It’s devastating for him coming to a new club and having an impact,” Slot added. “My first thoughts are with him being out for such a long time and missing out on special moments. He’s not the first or last to experience this.

“There are so many examples of players that came back even stronger – that’s his challenge. He could be one of those in 10 to 15 years’ time that will say the injury made him stronger and to perform at an even higher level than before.”

The manager also said that Sweden striker Isak was not ready to play 90 minutes yet, and the club still had options with the likes of Federico Chiesa and Cody Gakpo.

Ahead of the Merseyside derby, the first to be held at Everton’s new stadium, Liverpool are firmly in the race for Champions League qualification with 52 points in fifth place, five points above Everton.

“It’s always a very special game. They are in a very good place at the moment. It’s always special but maybe you can add 1 or 2 per cent to it because it’s the first game at the new stadium,” Slot said.

Everton manager David Moyes, meanwhile, wants to make the Hill Dickinson Stadium a happy home and a famous win over old foes Liverpool would go a long way towards achieving that.

It was a typically feverish final derby at Goodison Park last season, when James Tarkowski’s volley in the dying seconds earned the Toffees a 2-2 draw as they said farewell to the “Grand Old Lady”.

Their new stadium has not quite felt like home yet for many Evertonians, but a derby win against the Reds on a raucous Sunday afternoon may start to change that.

“When you move to a new stadium it’s always difficult,” Moyes told reporters on April 17. “If you look through the records of all teams who have built new stadiums, it has never been easy.

“We have had our ups and downs in it, we had a great start, the bits in the middle were not so good, but we are finding a bit better form now.” REUTERS