France and Liverpool forward Ekitike suffers blow to World Cup hopes

LIVERPOOL, England, April 14 : Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike was carried off the pitch in tears during the first half of their Champions League quarter-final second-leg clash with Paris St Germain on Tuesday after sustaining what appeared to be a serious injury.

The forward pointed to his Achilles tendon as medical staff attended to him before he was carried off on a stretcher at Anfield.

The injury could have major implications beyond Liverpool's season, with Ekitike due to feature for France at the World Cup in June-July.

Ekitike has 17 goals in all competitions this season since Liverpool signed him from Eintracht Frankfurt for 69 million pounds ($93.58 million) in July.

($1 = 0.7374 pounds)