In case you didn’t see the news yesterday, Hugo Ekitike will miss the rest of Liverpool’s season with the Achilles injury he sustained against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

“He hasn’t been operated [on] yet. Devastating for him. Coming to a new club, having so much impact straight away. Playing against your former club in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with so much more to come for him in the summer. Your first thoughts are then always with him, being out for such a long time.” – Arne Slot on Hugo Ekitike

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Joe Gomez is now out of Sunday’s Merseyside derby, too. The defender, who came on as a half-time substitute, was taken off midway through the second half with “discomfort”.

Asked on Friday whether Gomez was available to face Everton, Arne Slot replied with a simple “no.”

Alexander Isak has, at least, returned to action in the last fortnight, following up two cameos with a first start of 2026 against PSG. He’s not, however, ready for 90 minutes.

“It’s nice to have Alex back, although we also know that he’s not ready to play 90 [minutes] yet.” – Arne Slot on Alexander Isak

“Cody [Gakpo] did really well when he came on in the second half.

“The best thing [would be if] Hugo was still fit. But if he wasn’t, then if this would have happened two or three weeks later, it would have even better because Alex is not ready for 90 [minutes] yet – depending on the intensity of the game, by the way, because you never know how a game is going to work out.

“He’s getting closer and closer and now we need him but there are different options to play as a nine, as well. Federico [Chiesa] is also one of them. There are different options but it’s definitely good to have Alex back now Hugo is injured.” – Arne Slot on his forward options

Alisson (muscle), Wataru Endo (foot), Conor Bradley (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring), Jayden Danns (hamstring) and Giovanni Leoni (knee) remain out.

“The good thing for him is that he’s been out for such a long time and he’s now getting back with the under-21s, getting some playing time.

“But I think there’s still a lot of steps to be made if you’ve not even played 90 minutes [for] the under-21s, let alone then play a Premier League game.

“I’d really like him to be back but the reality is that he’s not on the bench for us this weekend.” – Arne Slot on Jayden Danns