Liverpool player and staff may have dropped subtle hint as to whether Ekitike will face Arsenal

Liverpool fans will be praying that Hugo Ekitike will be fit in time to face Arsenal in a crucial Premier League encounter on Thursday night.

The Reds’ top scorer for the season missed the 2-2 draw at Fulham last weekend due to a minor hamstring injury, and Arne Slot has been non-committal as to whether the 23-year-old will be available for the Emirates Stadium showdown tomorrow.

The head coach is likely to provide a more accurate update on the striker during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday morning, but in the meantime some staff members at Anfield – and one of the Frenchman’s teammates – may have dropped subtle hints of their own.

Liverpool player and staff drop Ekitike from FPL teams

The FPL Focal website compiles a list of professional footballers and staff at top-flight clubs who participate in Fantasy Premier League, including a few individuals currently employed by Liverpool.

The site also includes a roundup of the substitutions made by each game participant from week to week, and it may be indicative that Conor Bradley, Lee Nobes (head of rehab physiotherapy) and Neil Jones have all swapped Ekitike out of their teams ahead of the Arsenal match.

Mere coincidence or genuine concern?

That all three have subbed out the Frenchman may be mere coincidence, but in the context of the 23-year-old missing the Fulham game on Sunday, speculation over his involvement for tomorrow night could inevitably grow as a result of that online activity.

For a senior medical staff member to jettison the Liverpool striker from his FPL team would appear to hint that our number 22 is more unlikely than likely to feature at the Emirates, which’d obviously come as a huge body blow to the Reds as they try to halt the current league leaders in their tracks.

Of course, it must be stressed that FPL strategies aren’t a substitute for hands-on medical expertise, and Slot is sure to provide a more informed clue on the striker’s fitness when he speaks to the media later today.

Fingers crossed that we’ll get good news on Ekitike yet (especially with Alexander Isak sidelined for the foreseeable), even though some of his fellow LFC staff members have ruthlessly sacrificed him from their fantasy football line-ups!

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