Although Diogo Jota’s knee injury is devastating news as anticipated, reports from Portugal rule out the “worst-case scenario” of his season ending.
When Brentford captain Christian Norgaard landed on his knee following an aerial challenge during Saturday’s 4-1 triumph, Jota became the latest addition to Liverpool’s expanding list of injuries.
The attacker was stretchered off the field following treatment from club doctor Jonathan Power for an awkwardly twisted knee.
Jota appeared to have avoided a serious injury as he made his way to the Gtech Community Stadium’s medical room, but after the game, manager Jurgen Klopp was disheartened.
After preliminary tests on Sunday, Jota’s cruciate ligament damage was predicted, according to the Portuguese publication Record.
The 27-year-old is reportedly expected to miss “roughly two months” of play due to an injury to his rear (PCL) rather than anterior (ACL) ligament.
Jota is anticipated to be fit again before the season ends. He will get more scans on Monday, but the “worst-case scenario is excluded.”
The No. 20 would be sidelined for two months, which would keep him out of action until mid-April. He would miss about eight Premier League games, the Carabao Cup final, the FA Cup fifth round, a probable quarterfinal, and the Europa League last 16.
In addition to matches against Man United (April 6), Man City (March 10), and Everton (March 17), his return might take place in between legs of the Europa League quarterfinals.
Even if this is still sad news, there is one bright spot: Jota might return before the season ends, which could help in the final stretch.
He might be available for the last five domestic games of the season if his goal is to return in time for the league trip to Fulham on April 20.
However, it is truly unfortunate to lose a player who was just crowned the Premier League’s Player of the Month and who had contributed four assists and six goals in the previous 11 games.
Jurgen Klopp will rely on Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, and Cody Gakpo as his senior forwards in Jota’s absence.
While Nunez’s immediate fitness is still in question, Salah probably played longer than the team’s medical staff had planned after substituting for Jota prior to halftime against Brentford.
This Is Anfield knows that young winger Ben Doak, who is presently sidelined due to an MCL injury, plans to make his comeback in April.
The 19-year-old Kaide Gordon scored his first goal since January 2022 on Saturday during Liverpool U21s’ 2-1 victory over Newcastle.
Diogo Jota, Accidents
