Arsenal Doubt for Liverpool Striker

Hugo Ekitike is a big doubt for Liverpool’s trip to Arsenal due to a fitness issue which ruled him out against Fulham, with the striker yet to train.

Liverpool head to the Premier League leaders on Thursday knowing they will be without Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah – and probably, at least from the start, Ekitike.

The Frenchman missed Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Fulham despite traveling to London, with an MRI revealing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) during the club’s flight.

When asked during his pre-match press conference if Ekitike could return, Slot responded with doubt.

“He hasn’t trained with us until now. Let’s see if he can do it today,” the head coach told reporters.

“I said when we played Fulham that he wouldn’t be out for long, but yeah, because the games come so quickly he’s in between – maybe training with the team or it would take him another day or two.

It is likely that, if fit, Ekitike will only be considered for a place on the bench, with one of Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz or Federico Chiesa starting up front.

But it is also possible that he has completely missed out and is back in contention for the FA Cup third round clash with Barnsley on Monday evening.

Is Hugo Ekitike still injured? Conor Bradley and LFC physio drop FPL hint

The mystery over Ekitike’s situation was brought to light by eagle-eyed fans on Tuesday night as Conor Bradley and Liverpool’s head of rehabilitation physiotherapist Lee Nobes dropped him from their Fantasy Premier League squads.

Nobes, who will oversee the player’s recovery, and Bradley, a close teammate, have opted to bring in Brentford’s Igor Thiago in his place.

That matches Wednesday’s Slot update at least, with the chances of Ekitike starting against Arsenal clearly slim.