Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Diogo Jota will miss the World Cup after suffering a serious calf injury in Liverpool's win over Manchester City.
The forward was stretchered off in stoppage-time as Mohamed Salah's solitary strike earned the Reds a 1-0 victory over Pep Guardiola's side. And while the Portugal international won't require an operation, Klopp has confirmed he is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines that will rule him out of next month's tournament in Qatar.
"Really not good news about Diogo. Yes, he will miss the World Cup," the German told reporters. "A pretty serious injury in the calf muscle. And now the recovery starts, or the process starts. Let me say it like this.
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"That's it pretty much. That's the first diagnosis which is pretty clear. All the rest will now follow in the next few days. Very sad news for the boy, for us of course as well, and for Portugal. For everybody. But no (he doesn't need an operation)."
Meanwhile, Klopp was unable to confirm just how long Liverpool would be without Jota for, but hinted that the Reds might have to move in the transfer market in January as a result.
"Big impact. So now we can say that because he will not be available for a long time," he said. "We talk about months. We will see.
"I don't want to now put a number on it because I always hope that in the middle of the rehab that all of a sudden there is a really positive development and we can cut days off the rehab phase. But it will be long.
"It's Diogo and he is surprisingly okay so far. Incredibly smart boy. I think he knew it when we carried him off the pitch and when I spoke to him for a second.
"When I came out, we passed each other after the game. He explained what happened and I think in that moment already he knew it was a serious one and be impactful for his World Cup dreams.
"Now two players who played for us on the left, out for a long time. It's not helpful. We have to think about systems, we have to think about everything. That's what we'll do and that is the job."
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