Hugo Ekitike out of World Cup as ruptured Achilles curtails his Liverpool season

Hugo Ekitike has been ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon in Liverpool ’s Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain. Ekitike was stretchered off half an hour into the contest after going down off the ball and France manager Didier Deschamps has now confirmed in a statement that the striker will be absent for this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with his season with Liverpool over. "Hugo suffered a serious injury on Tuesday evening against PSG.

The severity of his injury will unfortunately prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and participating in the World Cup,” Deschamps said. Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted after the quarter-final clash, which the Reds lost 4-0 on aggregate, that the injury looked “really bad” , while defender Ibrahima Konate - Ekitike’s teammate for both club and country - said that “because with the World Cup coming it is very, very hard for him and I send him my prayers”. Les mots du sélectionneur Didier Deschamps pour Hugo Ekitiké 🙏 « Hugo s’est sérieusement blessé, mardi soir, contre le PSG.

La gravité de sa blessure va malheureusement l’empêcher de terminer la saison avec Liverpool et de participer à la Coupe du Monde. Hugo fait partie de… pic. twitter.

com/Z6nWLhIgs7 — Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) April 15, 2026 The 23-year-old has eight caps for France after breaking into the squad last September and was set to be selected by Deschamps as one of his forward options. He has scored two goals for his country, including one in the 2-1 friendly win over Brazil during the March international break, which took place at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts - a World Cup venue for this summer. “Hugo is one of the dozen young players who have made their debuts with the national team in recent months.