Ekitike, along with fellow long-term absentees Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley, has been included in Liverpool's squad for the Champions League despite an unclear timeline for his return from the Achilles injury he suffered back in April.
The France forward is aiming to be back in training before the end of the year, and the club hopes he will still be able to play some part in this season's league phase.
Manager Andoni Iraola addressed the situation at his press conference on Friday, acknowledging there was no certainty over exactly when Ekitike might return.
"It's difficult with these long-term injuries and I think he's still far [away from returning]," Iraola said. "We had a meeting with the medical department to analyse when we completed the [squad] list for the European games.
"There is a reasonable chance that he could help us in the last two games of the group stages."
Iraola stressed that any timeline remained provisional given the nature of the injury.
"It's still very early to say because it's a long-term injury and a big part of the rehab [he] is still to meet. But we decided to put him there because there is a hope and a realistic chance that he could help us in January," he added.
Under this season's revamped Champions League format, all 36 teams play eight matches in the league phase rather than the old six-game group stage, with the final two rounds now taking place in January rather than before Christmas. Liverpool's remaining fixtures include an away trip to Inter Milan and a home game against Lens in the new year.
Had Ekitike been left out of the original squad list altogether, Liverpool would still have been able to add him later, since clubs that qualify for the knockout rounds are permitted to register up to three new players before 5 February 2027. The overall squad limit of 25 players remains in place throughout, as does the requirement for eight locally trained players.