Liverpool forward hands Arne Slot fresh injury worry
Publish : Friday, 2025-01-17 ( Europe/London )
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota scored for the club in midweek to earn a draw against Nottingham Forest but is an injury concern for the upcoming trip to Brentford.
Liverpool will assess the fitness of Diogo Jota before making a decision on whether to include him in the squad to face Brentford on Saturday.
The 28-year-old earned the Premier League leaders a valuable point on the road in midweek, scoring just 22 seconds after coming on as a substitute to peg back high-flying Nottingham Forest at The City Ground.
The goal was Jota's fifth Premier League strike in what has been another campaign disrupted by injury. After missing 50 games over the past two seasons because of various muscle injuries and a knee ligament tear, the former Wolves forward has already missed a dozen games for Arne Slot.
"There is no doubt about the fact Jota is an important player for us, but he wasn't on the training ground yesterday so that means we have to see today where he is," Slot said. "So, it is not sure he will be available for tomorrow. We have to wait and see today.
"He felt a little bit when he came in [at Forest], a little niggle during the half-hour he came in. He could finish the game, but afterwards he complained a bit about it and that's why he didn't train yesterday.
"We have to wait and see if he is available today and then, of course, tomorrow."
Pressed specifically on whether Liverpool were trying to carefully manage Jota's fitness, the former Feyenoord boss continued: "Not because it's Jota, but I think every player has an individual programme.
"I said this last week as well, 80 or 90% of [the time] they do the same [things], but of course every individual has things he wants to improve or to prevent him from getting certain injuries that he maybe had in the past.
"Of course, there is an eye on him doing some individual work to prevent him from getting injuries, but that is not only with him, it's for all the others the same.
"There is a special programme for him, as there is for every single player - there is a special programme for every single player - but 80 or 90% is the same for every player."
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