Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Diogo Jota will miss the World Cup for Portugal with a serious calf muscle injury.
“It’s really not good news about Diogo,” Klopp said on Tuesday. “Yes, he will miss the World Cup. [It’s a] pretty serious injury in the calf muscle and now the recovery process starts.”
Jota was stretchered off against Manchester City over the weekend, and Klopp said the winger basically knew at that moment that his World Cup dreams had ended.
“I think he knew it when we carried him off the pitch,” Klopp said.
“We passed each other after the game and he explained pretty much what had happened. I think he knew it was a serious one and could be pretty impactful for his World Cup dreams.”
On the length of Jota’s absence, Klopp added: “We talk about months.”
Jota’s absence will be a blow for Portugal, which has been drawn into Group H at the World Cup along with Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea.
The 25-year-old has earned 29 caps for Portugal since making his debut in 2019, scoring 10 goals.
His injury will also be a warning for players as the World Cup creeps to within one month of kickoff. Any injury now, even a relatively minor one, could seriously impact a player’s World Cup dreams.
As club fixtures pile up, the reality is there will be more players like Jota. Here’s hoping the list won’t be too long.
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