Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has revealed his agony in seeing his World Cup dream collapse after suffering a severe calf strain that rules him out of Portugal action.
The 25-year-old took to Twitter to issue an update for concerned fans after the bleak news was confirmed by Jurgen Klopp in his Tuesday press conference: "After such a good night at Anfield mine ended in the worst way! In the last minute one of my dreams collapsed.
"I will be one more supporting from the outside, club and country, and fighting to be back as soon as possible. You'll Never Walk Alone."
Shortly before Jota's tweet, Klopp revealed the same news that the Reds forward would be unavailable in Qatar for Portugal due to the injury. "Not good news, about Diogo, he will miss the World Cup, pretty serious injury in the calf muscle. The process starts from now," he explained.
When asked how Jota was feeling, Klopp's answer doesn't exactly align with the emotions conveyed in the player's tweet as the Reds boss told reporters: "He's surprisingly OK so far, he's a smart boy, very reflective, and I think he knew already when we carried him off the pitch."
Jota was withdrawn from Sunday's victory over Pep Guardiola's side deep into second-half stoppage time after being removed from the pitch on a stretcher - an ominous sign that his World Cup prospects were on the line.
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This is just the latest blow for the former Wolves star who has struggled with persistent hamstring injuries for a while, with Jota having to miss the opening month of the current campaign while he recovered.
Confirmation that his World Cup dreams are over will be a bitter pill to swallow, but Jota can take some comfort in the fact that he will not have to undergo any kind of surgery to rectify the problem.
It is another headache for Reds boss Klopp to deal with having already lost one forward a week earlier when Luis Diaz picked up a serious-looking knock during the 3-2 defeat at Arsenal.
