By OkayGoal 
Hugo Ekitike was forced off with an injury in the first half of Liverpool’s defeat to Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.
The striker was left clutching the upper part of his left following an accidental collision with James Milner just two minutes into the match at the Amex Stadium.
The 23-year-old limped toward the sidelines after receiving treatment and returned to the field, but went down again soon after. He was replaced by Curtis Jones in the eighth minute.
The Reds missed Ekitike’s presence up front as they failed to carve out many clearcut chances against Brighton, who picked up three valuable points thanks to a brace from Danny Welbeck. Milos Kerkez had levelled matters in the opening half after capitalising on a mistake at the back from Lewis Dunk.
Hugo Ekitike injury update after Liverpool subbed off early
Liverpool boss Arne Slot provided an update after the final whistle, and although he admitted that losing Ekitike is a “big blow”, he suggest that the injury is not a serious one.
“It was a big blow for us that one of our two strikers that we have available with Hugo [Ekitike] and Alex [Isak] was already not here and the other one has to go off after one or two minutes; that is usually not helpful, especially when you look at how well Hugo played Wednesday,” the Dutchman told TNT Sports.
He added: “The players and the fans know that there is only eight games to go to qualify for the Champions League and every game you have to miss is something you are upset about.
“Him going off and not being able to help the team – it is just a bit of bad luck. It is not like he will be out for three months but it is bad enough that he wasn’t able to continue. It was a blow for him and a blow for us.”
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