Jurgen Klopp has been speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of LASK at Anfield on Thursday evening and has confirmed that Diogo Jota will be out of action for a while.
Liverpool took a well-fought point from their meeting with Manchester City in the Premier League last weekend, however, the joy of taking something from the Etihad was quickly dampened with both Diogo Jota and Alisson Becker looking like they had picked up injuries in the clash.
The Reds have gone relatively unscathed so far this season when it comes to first-team regulars picking up injuries, with only Thiago Alcantara and Andy Robertson suffering long-term concerns, however, that luck seems to have run out.
Klopp took to his pre-match press conference to confirm that both Alisson and Jota will spend some time on the sidelines after having their issues assessed, with the latter set to be out for much longer with a more serious injury than his teammate.
The German coach revealed to the media:
“Both are out,”
“Diogo will take a little bit longer, we don’t know exactly how long, but it’s a bit more severe. We have to see.”
How long will Jota be out for?
There is no doubt that Jota’s injury woes will be frustrating for Klopp as the squad heads into one of their most busy and congested periods ahead of Christmas.
Liverpool will face LASK, Fulham, Sheffield United, Union Saint-Gilloise and Crystal Palace over the next fortnight, before facing Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League at Anfield, alongside a Carabao Cup quarter final clash with West Ham United the following week.
The Portuguese forward has been a huge influence in front of goal in all competitions and has found the back of the net eight times already, continuing to be a consistent and prolific presence in his fourth season for the Reds and will certainly be missed in the attacking threat.
Luckily, Liverpool are stocked up on exciting forwards with Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz all capable of taking on the role on the left wing during Jota’s absence, so there is plenty of talent and experience to cover.
With that being said, Klopp will be hoping that he will have no more injury troubles to contend with at this crucial time for Liverpool to pick up important points and Jota will hopefully make a speedy recovery to come back into the team before the turn of the year.
