With Alexander Isak sidelined for the time being after suffering a broken leg, the responsibility of leading Liverpool’s attack fell to Ekitike, who played 517 of Liverpool’s final 540 minutes.
The Frenchman was expected to be in the starting line-up at Craven Cottage and at worst on the bench, but he was instead completely left out.
Hugo Ekitike’s injury: why he was left out against Fulham
• Hamstring stroke: The Frenchman is out of the Fulham game with a minor hamstring problem caused by the recent heavy workload.
• Attacker crisis: Of Alexander Isaac also sidelined, Arne Slot has appointed an improvised front three, consisting of Szoboszlai, Wirtz and Gakpo.
• Arsenal Doubt: Ekitike has contributed to six goals in the last six games but remains a major doubt for Thursday’s trip to the Emirates.
The club stated that his absence was due to “a minor fitness issue”, with Slot later telling Sky Sports that it was a hamstring injury related to his recent workload.
“Alexander Isak has been out for a few weeks,” Slot began. “That led to Hugo having to play more minutes than he did all season.
“That led to him suffering a minor hamstring injury, because he had to play more and more minutes.
“For a player of his age who is not yet fully accustomed to the Premier League, that was a bit too much.
“That’s why he will be out today hopefully be back for the match against Arsenal. But that is certainly not certain yet.”
Ekitike’s absence means Slot will be without a recognized number 9 for the Premier League match against Fulham, with Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo forming the Reds’ attack.
And Slot didn’t sound too optimistic that he would be available against Arsenal on Thursday evening, which would require another makeshift striker.
It is an untimely blow for Liverpool as Ekitike has had six of the last ten goals for Liverpool, with five goals and one assist.
There were concerns that a fitness issue would be the solution for the 23-year-old at some point as he had to take responsibility for the attack due to injuries elsewhere.
Of Liverpool’s previous thirteen games in all competitions, Ekitike started ten and played more than 80 minutes in five of the last six.
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