Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota will miss the World Cup after being ruled out for months with a calf injury.
The Portugal international was carried off on a stretcher late on in Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League victory over Manchester City.
Jota, 25, has scored 10 goals in 29 appearances for his country.
“Really not good news about Diogo. Yes, he will miss the World Cup,” said manager Jurgen Klopp.
“A pretty serious injury in the calf muscle. And now the recovery starts, or the process starts. 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).
“So now we can say that, because he will not be available for a long time. We talk about months.
“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.”
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