Liverpool boss Arne Slot has confirmed that Diogo Jota will not return from injury until after the November international break.
The Portugal forward has been out of action since being forced off the pitch during the 2-1 win over Chelsea earlier this month. He’s set to miss Wednesday’s League Cup meeting with Brighton as well this Saturday’s Premier League clash with the Seagulls, the Champions League encounter with Borussia Dortmund, and next weekend’s visit of Aston Villa.
Alisson, Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa also remain sidelined for the round of 16 fixture, but full-back Conor Bradley could make his return in midweek.
Conor is training with us again so maybe he could be in the squad tomorrow. Jota not, Alisson not, Harvey Elliott not and Federico not,” the Dutchman said.
Chiesa has been beset by injury problems since joining Liverpool from Juventus in the summer. Slot was unwilling to put a timeframe on his potential return.
“It’s always difficult to say because he goes a bit up and down so sometimes he’s there with us and trains a few days and then goes out for an injury again.
“I don’t want to put days or weeks on it because I think we just have to make sure he gets in the best possible shape and don’t put any pressure on him.”
Asked if he planned on rotating his lineup for the Brighton game, Slot responded: “I don’t think it’s possible to do the same as we did against West Ham (in the previous round) for the simple reason that we’ve got some injuries so we don’t have enough players to change them all, if I wanted that.
I think if you look at our schedule and the amount of times we have less days to recover apart from our opponent, it might be a moment for us to see some other players but I first have to see how fit everybody is.”
