Diogo Jota was visibly in pain after Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Burnley, with Jurgen Klopp eager not to lose another key player as the injuries continue to mount up.
Jota has featured in all 10 games since his return from a hamstring injury in December, starting six of the last seven and scoring five in his last five starts.
The No. 20 has been key as Liverpool pushed on without Mohamed Salah, particularly in recent games when starting on the right in a first-choice attack with Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez.
It could be a concern, then, that Jota was spotted limping in a behind-the-scenes video for LFCTV immediately after the victory over Burnley on Saturday.
Wincing as he made his way back to the changing room, Jota was not walking freely after a much-needed win in which he opened the scoring.
The Liverpool squad were given time off following the Burnley game, with a full week to prepare for the trip to Brentford.
And the hope will be that any minor ailments are brushed off in the days between now and February 17 – including any issues for Jota.
Before Klopp holds his pre-match press conference on Friday, however, there is already cause to believe that Jota will be in contention for the next fixture.
The manager’s comments on his durability, when speaking at the start of February, suggest that it was just another day at the office for the Portuguese.
“Diogo gets, in each game, knocks like crazy,” Klopp said before the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.
“If I go through the lists of medical reports I got over the years since Diogo is here, he’s in each and every one of them.
“And not as ‘injured’, just as ‘has a bruise’, ‘has a knock’, ‘has that’, ‘has that’. All after each game. So he really gets it.”
While the hope is that Salah (hamstring) and Conor Bradley (bereavement) are back in training this week – Ibrahima Konate is free to return after suspension – Liverpool still have a host of injury problems.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (knee) and Ryan Gravenberch (groin) picked up issues before and during Saturday’s win, and Dominik Szoboszlai (hamstring) could still be sidelined.
Thiago (hamstring) is facing an uncertain spell out, and Joel Matip (ACL), Stefan Bajcetic (growing pains) and Ben Doak (MCL) are out with long-term injuries.
Alisson and Joe Gomez were absent at the weekend due to illness, but should be back at Brentford.
