Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Diogo Jota is facing "months" on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury against Brentford.
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Klopp reveals timeframe for Jota's recoverySuffered a knee injury against BrentfordLiverpool face Luton and Chelsea in a gap of four daysGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
The Portuguese forward injured his left knee after a challenge from Brentford's Christian Norgaard in the first half of Liverpool's 4-1 win at the Gtech Community Stadium. Jota had to be treated on the pitch for several minutes before leaving on a stretcher.
On Monday, reported that Jota suffered a serious knock and will not play a part in Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Chelsea. Now, Klopp has confirmed that the 27-year-old is facing a lengthy spell away from the pitch.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT JURGEN KLOPP SAID
Addressing the media ahead of the club's midweek Premier League clash against Luton Town, Klopp gave an update on Jota and Curtis Jones, who was also injured in the Brentford game, and said No.1 goalkeeper Alisson won't be fit to return just yet. "With Diogo, it will take months," he said. "With Curtis – with injuries you have important days like day five, day ten when you then judge the situation again because nobody reacts in the same way. It depends on the pain level and stuff like this, so I couldn’t say or give you a time frame even if I wanted to. It’s not great, definitely not. I would like to sit here and say absolutely no issues but obviously, we have some. So, not available: Ali (Alisson), that’s a muscle injury where we don’t know exactly how long it takes, but definitely not for the foreseeable time coming back. Diogo (Jota) with a knee issue is ruled out. Curtis with a bone ligament issue is ruled out."
Alisson is now facing a race against time to play in the Carabao Cup final, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai having already been ruled out. "Then we have the others where we will deal with it day by day with muscle things," Klopp added. "We will see for tomorrow, you see the line-up early enough and then you can see who made it and who didn’t make it.
"A little bit longer term like Trent (Alexander-Arnold) and Dom (Szoboszlai), they are on their way back but not in team training yet. So that means they are not available as well."
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Klopp has plenty of problems to deal with as he seeks to end his nine-year reign at Liverpool in style, with the Reds still fighting on four trophy fronts. The only good news for the German at the moment is Mohamed Salah's recovery from his injury, which he suffered during Egypt's second group stage fixture in the AFCON. The 31-year-old replaced Jota against Brentford and found the back of the net on his return after providing an assist for Alexis Mac Allister.
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?
The Merseyside club have won three out of their last four Premier League games, scoring a whopping 11 goals. They currently have a two-point lead over second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table and are four points above reigning champions Manchester City – albeit having played a game more. Liverpool will aim to extend their winning streak against the Hatters at Anfield on Wednesday before attention turns to their Carabao Cup final encounter against Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday.