BEVERLY HILLS, February 24, (THEWILL) – Liverpool’s Portuguese forward Diogo Jota returned to full first-team training with Liverpool on Wednesday after being sidelined by a knee injury, which he picked up on Saturday, January 9 and that left a gaping hole in the frontline of the defending champions.
In a sight that pleased Jurgen Klopp, the Reds’ manager, the 24-year-old took part in a full session for the first time in over two months on Wednesday. His return to the pitch and squad sheet now will hinge on his progressive improvements in the days ahead and the advice of the backroom fitness trainers.
It will be a plus for Anfield Army if he can make the bench on Sunday at Bramall Lane when the defending champions take the team rock bottom of the English Premier League standings, Sheffield United, for a must-win tie after their unfortunate string of four losses have seen them drop to sixth.
However, if Jota is not ready for that tie, then Klopp would be hopeful that a player of his calibre will be available for inclusion in the Matchday squad in the Thursday, March 4 EPL home game against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side.
Jota sustained the knee injury in the Champions League dead-rubber against Midtjylland in early December, where Senegalese forward Sadio Mane came on as an 87th minute substitute for him. The Portuguese worked closely with the medical team to return earlier than feared and allay concerns of a long layoff.
The striker was in fine vein of form after his surprise summer move from Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 17 appearances, he found the net nine times, with some very critical goals that saved Liverpool very significant points with the most memorable being his hattrick against the free-scoring Serie A side Atalanta last November.
His injury coincided with the struggle for goals in Klopp’s side. It got so bad last month that they endured a four-game stretch of failing to score including embarrassing losses to Southampton at St Mary’s and Burnley at home in Anfield. Jota will be returning as the champions are now in a very real fight to finish in the top four to at least meet the minimum requirement of qualifying for Europe next year.
After fortifying Anfield with a 68-match unbeaten run, which had been running since Mane joined the club, they have had the unfortunate experience of losing four games in a row at home in the league, for the first time of recent.
Part of the reason for these sets of unfortunate events can be traced to the tough season they have had to endure as a slew of injuries have befallen the club. In their last match, a loss to Everton, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson could not continue playing and had to be replaced at the half hour mark by Nathaniel Phillips. It turned out to be groin injury.
This latest defensive blow meets a Liverpool side still dealing with the loss of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip in their continued absence for the foreseeable future with long-term injuries that have neutered the previously solid defense line in front of Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
With James Milner, Fabinho and Naby Keita also receiving treatment for various injuries, a positive fact of having Jota back will please the Liverpool team and their fans especially if his form in front of goal remained unaffected by the stretched absence of his time on the sidelines.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
