Slot now has unexpected decision to make as injury angst speaks volumes

BOSS HAS DIFFICULT PROBLEM OVER EKITIKE AND ISAK TO SOLVE SOON

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Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike interact during the defeat at Galatasaray

(LIVERPOOL FC VIA GETTY IMAGES)

THE importance of a player to a team can usually be measured by the howls of anguish that greet their potential unavailability. So when one Liverpool player was led from the field by the medical team on Tuesday after undergoing lengthy treatment, the angst could probably be heard all the way from Merseyside to Istanbul.

Except this isn’t Alisson Becker, although the sight of the goalkeeper holding up his hand to request attention after yet another hamstring injury prompted an audible sigh of resignation among Liverpool supporters.

Instead, the reaction to Hugo Ekitike being forced to depart the Champions League clash against Galatasaray long before the final whistle underlined how the France international has taken little time making an impact following his arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer for a fee that could eventually reach £79m.