It is bad news on Diogo Jota‘s knee injury as expected, but reports in Portugal have ruled out the “worst-case scenario” of his season being over.
Jota joined Liverpool’s growing injury list when Brentford captain Christian Norgaard landed on his knee after aerial challenge in Saturday’s 4-1 victory.
The striker’s knee bent awkwardly, and after receiving treatment from club doctor Jonathan Power, he was stretchered off the pitch.
Early signs suggested Liverpool could have escaped a major blow, as Jota walked freely to the treatment room at the Gtech Community Stadium – but Jurgen Klopp was downcast after full-time.
Initial scans took place on Sunday and, according to Portuguese newspaper Record, Jota has suffered cruciate ligament damage as expected.
It is claimed that the 27-year-old could miss “around two months” of action, with the area of his injury likely to be posterior (PCL) rather than anterior (ACL).
Jota will undergo further scans on Monday, but the “worst-case scenario is excluded,” with the player expected to be fit again before the end of the season.
A two-month layoff would rule the No. 20 out until mid-April, missing around eight Premier League games, the Carabao Cup final, the FA Cup fifth round and a potential quarter-final, plus the Europa League last 16.
That would include meetings with Man City (March 10), Everton (March 17) and Man United (April 6), and could see his return land between legs in the Europa League quarter-finals.
While it remains frustrating news, the positive is that Jota should be back before the end of the season, which could provide a boost during the run-in.
If he aims to be back for the league trip to Fulham on April 20, for example, he could be available for the final five games of the domestic campaign.
Nevertheless, losing a player who had just been named the Premier League‘s Player of the Month, and had scored six goals and assisted four in the last 11 games, is a real setback.
In Jota’s absence, Jurgen Klopp will rely on Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo as his senior forwards.
There remain doubts over the short-term fitness of Nunez, however, while Salah likely played more than the club’s medical staff had hoped when replacing Jota before half-time at Brentford.
Young winger Ben Doak is currently out with an MCL injury, and This Is Anfield understands he himself is hoping to return in April.
Kaide Gordon, 19, scored his first goal since January 2022 when he converted his spot-kick in Liverpool U21s’ 2-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
