The forward suffered a knee injury during the week and will miss a number of important games for his club
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota will be out for six to eight weeks, according to Reds manager Jurgen Klopp.
Having arrived from Wolves in the summer, the Portuguese is off to an impressive start at Anfield, scoring five goals in nine Premier League games and four of six in the Champions League to emerge as a credible contender to start on the attack line.
However, Jota’s effort to become a full-time member of the three forwards has suffered a significant setback after sustaining a knee injury during Liverpool’s Champions League draw with Midtjylland on Wednesday.
In the worst case scenario where Jota misses eight weeks of action, he would be back in mid-February, just in time to play the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
However, he is about to miss a series of vital matches for Klopp’s team.
“Yes, it is worse than we thought at first and better than we thought then,” Klopp explained to reporters, while revealing that Kostas Tsimikas is set for a similar dismissal with a knee injury.
“All the potential surgeons reviewed it, no surgery is needed. But it will be out for a while. We don’t know exactly, but a month and a half, two months. We don’t know exactly. It is quite similar with Kostas Tsimikas, by the way. Incredible.”
Klopp added: “It was the first after the game. We saw the situation when he understood it; himself, no one would have thought that something would happen there.
“We took him off the court and he said ‘I feel a little bit’ and the next day, we scan and then a surgeon has to look at him. This is how we do it, different information. In the end, it’s strange but we were happy to hear the diagnosis final “.
In total, there are 12 Premier League games to be played over the next two months, including a series of major head-to-head matches against potential title rivals.
If the list of holiday games seems generous with the Reds, toward the end of January it becomes more challenging. Manchester United is scheduled to visit Anfield on January 16, while a trip to Tottenham a fortnight later.
On February 6, meanwhile, Klopp’s men host Manchester City. That would be the last game he would be out of play for if he missed exactly eight weeks.
In the meantime, there’s also the FA Cup trip to Aston Villa on January 8 as the Reds look to avenge a surprising 7-2 league loss.
Klopp’s men have been badly affected by injuries this season, especially at the heart of their defense. Both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are long-term victims.
However, there was some positive news for Klopp on Sunday, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was able to be named to the team for the first time after a preseason injury.