Diogo Jota Ruled Out Of Portugal’s World Cup Campaign

Liverpool has announced that Portuguese forward Diogo Jota will miss the World Cup and the friendly match against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

On November 17, Portugal will play the Super Eagles as part of the buildup to this year’s World Cup.

Seven days after their match with Nigeria, the 2016 European champions will play Ghana in the World Cup opener. After that, they will face Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.

Jota’s absence was verified in the following statement posted on Liverpool’s website

The club said: “Diogo Jota is set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines due to the calf muscle injury he sustained against Manchester City on Sunday, which will also rule him out of Portugal’s World Cup campaign.

“Jota does not require surgery on the issue, however.”

At his press conference prior to West Ham United, Jürgen Klopp said, “It’s really not good news about Diogo. Yes, he will miss the World Cup. [It’s a] pretty serious injury in the calf muscle and now the recovery process starts. That’s it pretty much.

“That is the first diagnosis, which was pretty clear, and all the rest will now follow in the next few days.

“It is very sad news for the boy, and for us as well of course [and] for Portugal.”

The Portuguese player will be out for a significant amount of time, according to the German coach, who declined to give a specific return date during his press conference.

“So, we will see. I don’t want to put now a number on it because I always hope in the middle of the rehab there is a very positive development and we can cut days off the rehab phase, but it will be long,” he said.