Liverpool Ace Diogo Jota Ruled out Of World Cup in Devastating Blow to Portugal

Liverpool Ace Diogo Jota Ruled out Of World Cup in Devastating Blow to Portugal

Rene Otinga
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:14 PM
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  • Diogo Jota will miss out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar according to Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp
  • The Portugal international is struggling with a calf muscle injury, and Klopp confirmed fans’ fears on Tuesday, October 18
  • Jota picked up the calf problem during Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Diogo Jota will not participate in the World Cup 2022 in Qatar due to a calf problem.

Jota, who is an instrumental player for the Selecao, picked up the injury late in Liverpool’s clash against Manchester City on Sunday, October 16.

The former Wolves forward was stretchered off in stoppage time - and it looked like he was in genuine pain as he was being taken off.

Jota, Liverpool, Klopp, Portugal.
Diogo Jota of Liverpool goes down with an injury during the Premier League match against Manchester City at Anfield on October 16, 2022. Photo by John Powell.
Source: Getty Images

Initially, it was believed that the 25-year-old would be out of action for at least a month.

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In a pre-match interview however, Klopp was quoted by Sky Sports as confirming the forward would not make it to Qatar on time.

"Not good news about Diogo; yes, he will miss the World Cup," Klopp said. "Pretty serious injury of the calf muscle. Sad news for the boy, us and Portugal."

Klopp also added that Jota was 'okay' despite the setback, and already knew his fate by the time he was being taken off on Sunday.

This will be the second major blow Portugal are dealt, after the national team lost Pedro Neto to injury this month.

Jota's 2022/2023 campaign gets worse

This will certainly be a campaign to forget for Jota. He missed the start of the season for Liverpool as he battled a hamstring problem, but eventually returned for the Merseyside derby on September 3.

During the recent international break, he played for Portugal, scoring in a 4-0 rout over the Czech Republic.

Qatar doubt for Reece James

Elsewhere, Sports Brief also reported on Reece James' uncertainty ahead of the World Cup.

This is after tests revealed the injury he sustained against AC Milan is worse than imagined.

Reported indicated the Englishman may have damaged ligaments and will be sidelined for up to two months, forcing him to miss the world's biggest football tournament

The youngster was expected to be the Three Lions starting right-back in Qatar next month, but the injury means he may have to miss the tournament.

Authors
Rene Otinga photo
Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.
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