February 21 – In-form Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has been ruled out for ‘months’ after picking up an injury against Brentford on Saturday.
Jota was taken off on a stretcher just before half-time after Bees midfielder Christian Norgaard fell on his leg. It is reported that the 27-year-old will be out of action for at least a couple of months, but is expected to return before the season finishes and prior to Euro 2024 in the summer.
The injury marks is a blow to the league leaders, who will host Luton Town on Wednesday night without ten first-team players. The ever-growing injury list already included a host of important figures in Trent Alexander Arnold, Alisson and Dominik Szoboszlai, with Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez also doubts for the Reds’ next league outing.
Jota has been in career-best form of late, earning the Premier League Player of the Month award for January after notching three goals and two assists to sustain Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table. Since the turn of the year, he has been the unexpected heartbeat of Liverpool’s front line in Salah’s absence, with eight goal contributions across seven Premier League games in that timeframe.
Midfielder Curtis Jones also went off injured in the Brentford game, while striker Darwin Nunez was substituted at half-time as a precaution. Keeper Alisson Becker missed the game entirely after picking up a muscle issue in training the day before.
Klopp mentioned that Jones is dealing with a bone ligament injury, and Alisson is currently out due to a muscle problem. However, Klopp couldn’t provide a specific timeline for their return, confirming that both players will be unavailable for the upcoming match against the Hatters.
“With Diogo it will obviously take months,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. “It’s not great, definitely not. I’d like to say no issues but obviously we have some.”
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1735072837labto1735072837ofdlr1735072837owedi1735072837sni@g1735072837niwe.1735072837yrrah1735072837