Monday, December 23, 2024

Liverpool’s Jota out of Leipzig game with chest blow

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Diogo Jota tried to play on with the injury against Chelsea but was eventually substituted [PA Media]

Liverpool will be without Diogo Jota for Wednesday’s Champions League match at RB Leipzig after the forward suffered a chest injury against Chelsea.

Jota was forced off during the first half of Sunday’s Premier League game after being brought down by Blues 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.”

Goalkeeper Alisson, defender Conor Bradley, midfielder Harvey Elliott and forward Federico Chiesa have also missed out on the trip to Germany, with Liverpool attempting to make it three wins from three in the Champions League.

Chiesa has been restricted to just three appearances since a summer move from Juventus and Slot says it will take some time before the Italian fully adjusts to English football.

“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.”

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.

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