Liverpool and Portugal attacker Diogo Jota is reportedly at risk of missing the 2022 World Cup after picking up a calf injury in Sunday's win over Manchester City.
Jota started alongside Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino in the final third against the champions, where a second-half goal from Salah propelled the Reds to a 1-0 triumph in a fiery encounter.
The game ended on a sour note for the home crowd, though, as Jota had to be taken off on a stretcher deep into second-half injury time to add to their ongoing fitness woes.
Jurgen Klopp did not have any positive news to share on Jota's condition in his post-match press conference, telling reporters: "Diogo, I wish I wouldn't have to talk about it. I saw it on the side on the screen, I am the first who saw it.
"When I saw he goes down and there was not a lot of contact, you can see a little bit that somebody kicks his foot and maybe the muscle got overstretched, 96 minutes, that's not good for the muscle. He felt it immediately and now we have to wait to see how bad it is."
© Reuters
According to The Athletic, there are now fears that Jota's injury is serious enough to end his World Cup hopes, and he will undergo a scan on Monday to determine the severity of the problem in his right calf.
Portugal will be taking on South Korea, Uruguay and Ghana in Group H in Qatar, kicking off their bid for World Cup glory against the African nation on November 24.
Jota has been an ever-present in the Portugal setup for the past couple of years and has now earned 28 caps for his country, scoring 10 goals and setting up nine more in the process.
The 25-year-old missed the first few weeks of the 2022-23 season due to a hamstring injury and has only made eight appearances in all tournaments so far, registering five assists but failing to find the back of the net.
Liverpool's treatment room is already well-occupied amid the packed autumn schedule, with Jota being kept company in the infirmary by fellow attacker Luis Diaz, who may not feature for Liverpool again before Boxing Day due to a knee problem.
© Reuters
Joel Matip (calf), Ibrahima Konate (muscle), Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arthur (all thigh) are also sidelined, but Trent Alexander-Arnold was back from an ankle injury on Sunday afternoon.
Salah's second-half goal settled an incident-filled contest between Liverpool and Man City, with Pep Guardiola's side seeing Phil Foden's goal disallowed for a shirt pull on Fabinho by Erling Braut Haaland.
A similar challenge on Salah from Bernardo Silva right in front of the linesman went unpunished during the dying embers of the contest, and Klopp gave the official an earful before being sent off.
The German has now admitted that his "over the top" behaviour warranted a red card, and the 1-0 win for the Merseyside outfit was also marred by incidences of crowd disorder from both sets of fans.
Liverpool condemned "vile chants" about stadium disasters from the away end after the contest, and Guardiola claimed to have had coins thrown in his direction from home fans.
No Data Analysis info
