Arne Slot has described Hugo Ekitike’s Achilles injury as a “devastating” blow, though the Liverpool boss is certain the forward will eventually return better than ever.

Ekitike will miss the rest of the season, as well as France’s World Cup campaign, after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon.

He sustained the injury in the first half of Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League second-leg loss to Paris Saint-Germain, going down with nobody around him and being carried off.

Ekitike’s debut campaign at Anfield brought 17 goals and six assists in all competitions, but ahead of facing Everton in the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday, Slot must call on alternative striking options.

“He hasn’t been operated on yet. It is devastating for him, after coming to a new club and having such an impact straight away,” Slot told reporters on Friday.

“Your first thoughts are always with him, being out for such a long time and missing out on so many special moments. But he is not the first or last player who will experience this and so many have come back even stronger.

“I’m sure in 10, 15 years, he will maybe even say this injury helped him to perform at an even higher level than he did before.”

Slot does at least have fellow big-money signing Alexander Isak available after the Swede missed almost five months with a leg fracture, though he was limited to 45 minutes against PSG and is still not ready to play a full match.

“You could not write the script that Alexander Isak is back after four months with an injury when the other [Ekitike] is injured,” he added.

“It’s nice to have Alex back, although we also know that he is not ready to play 90 minutes yet.

“There are other players who can fill in that position. Cody [Gakpo] did really well when he came in in the second half [versus PSG].

“You never know how a game is going to work out but he [Isak] is getting closer and closer. We need him but there are different options. Federico Chiesa is another of them.”

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If Liverpool are beaten by Everton on Sunday, it will be the first time they have lost 10 times in a Premier League season since 2014-15 (12 defeats), while it would also be the most losses suffered by a reigning champion since Leicester City lost 18 times in 2016-17.

Even a top-five finish may not be enough to save Slot after a hugely disappointing campaign, but he was encouraged by his team’s second-leg display against PSG, having had more shots (21 to 12) and expected goals (1.97 xG to 1.09) than the European champions.

“They have shown a lot of character against Paris Saint-Germain,” Slot said. “Being the better team against PSG is very complicated.

“They were very well rested and a lot of my players broke records in terms of physical output. That tells you how strong and how ready they are, and that will be no different on Sunday.”