Diogo Jota injury: Progress and potential return date

For all his ruthless finishing, instinctive positioning and tireless pressing, injuries have been one of the prevailing themes of Diogo Jota's Liverpool career.

The potent Portuguese forward has missed some lengthy spells since trading Molineux for Anfield at the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign, with his second season at Liverpool the only one in which he hasn't suffered a serious and long-term injury.

Jota has already spent a significant spell on the sidelines this term, missing 12 matches for the Reds with an issue sustained in October - the last time he started a Premier League match. He's been eased back into the squad over recent weeks having made a full recovery, but his latest setback is another worry.

Here's the latest injury news regarding the diminutive Liverpool striker.

What injury does Diogo Jota have?

Jota has proven his worth on several occasions since returning from the treatment room, often making an immediate impact from the bench. That's exactly what he did last Tuesday during Liverpool's top of the table clash with Nottingham Forest, netting a header within 22 seconds of entering the fray.

The Portugal international could have finished up with a hat-trick had it not been for the impressive reflexes of Matz Sels, with the 28-year-old transforming Liverpool's fortunes from the bench. Only Mohamed Salah finished the match with more shots than Jota's four, despite the fact that the former Wolverhampton Wanderers forward only arrived in the 65th minute.

However, he evidently didn't make it through the match unscathed, with Liverpool boss Slot confirming that he suffered a fresh injury concern.

When will Diogo Jota return from injury?

Slot hasn't gone into great detail on the nature of Jota's issue, beyond a muscle overload, but it was enough to rule the player out of the weekend clash with Brentford.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Lille, the boss put a timeframe of weeks rather than months on the recovery.

"Maybe Jota [will be back] a bit earlier than Joe [Gomez]. Both of them are expected to be back with us in weeks rather than months," Slot explained.

"But I've said many times before that the last stage of rehab is the most difficult one, or the one that sometimes [can] add a few days or not. It's clear that we are expecting them to be back with us in the upcoming weeks. It is always difficult to say exactly how long it is.

"Both of them are not going to be out for months, that's for sure, as long as the rehab goes as planned."

Who could replace Diogo Jota for Liverpool?

Liverpool are not shy of attacking options and have several candidates to lead the line in Jota's absence. One of those is Luis Diaz, who started against Forest last week, and the Colombian did indeed get the nod for the Brentford trip.

Darwin Nunez was suspended for the trip to the City Ground - a venue in which he scored a dramatic late winner last season - but returned to the fold on Saturday with two late goals off the bench.

Even 19-year-old Jayden Danns, who scored in the FA Cup last weekend and celebrated his birthday on Thursday, could also be a candidate for upcoming matchday squads. The youngster has been linked with a loan exit in January but could stick around to provide attacking cover.

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