Liverpool forward Diogo Jota will miss Wednesday’s Champions League game against RB Leipzig after suffering a chest injury against Chelsea.
Jota was forced in the first half of Liverpool’s 2-1 win over the Blues on Sunday after being brought down by defender Tosin Adarabioyo.
“He got a knock, like we all saw, when he was trying to go to goal, brought down,” said Liverpool manager Arne Slot.
“That was not the biggest problem, but I think the other player fell on to him and that hurt him that much that he couldn’t continue to play and he couldn’t come with us for now.
“It’s difficult to judge at this moment of time to see how long that’s going to take. It’s bruised.”
Arne Slot has provided an update on the current fitness issues within his squad 🗣️
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 22, 2024
Goalkeeper Alisson, defender Conor Bradley, midfielder Harvey Elliott and forward Federico Chiesa have also not travelled to Germany as the Reds look to make it three wins from three in the Champions League.
Chiesa has featured just three times since his summer move from Juventus and Slot insists it will take some time for the Italian to adjust.
“He missed a complete pre-season, I said this many times, and going to a league where the intensity might even be higher than the Italian league,” said the Dutchman.
“So that makes it difficult for him to make the step towards the intensity levels the rest of the team is at at the moment.
“I feel sorry for him. But he signed a long-term contract so we will see what he brings for us.”
Slot: ‘We can become more dominant’
Slot has made a dream start to his Anfield reign, winning 10 of his 11 games in charge so far as they sit top of the Premier League ahead of a crucial game against Arsenal on Sunday following on from Wednesday’s trip to Germany.
But despite impressing many with their controlled approach, the Dutch boss says there is scope for his side to get even better.
He added: “You cannot ask for much more with results but there is always room for improvement. I don’t think we outplayed Chelsea [in Sunday’s 2-1 win], we certainly did not I think they were more dominant than us with the ball.
“In an ideal world I would have seen us dominate the complete game. We are not there yet. The good thing is, if we face a team like Chelsea and [Manchester] United, you see a team fighting for every centimeter or every moment in the game.
“I am hoping in the future, hopefully the near future, we play a game like AC Milan or United and become more dominant than we were against Chelsea.”
