Liverpool FC boss Jurgen Klopp gives latest Diogo Jota injury update after UEFA Champions League victory over Inter Milan

Liverpool FC boss Jurgen Klopp gives latest Diogo Jota injury update after UEFA Champions League victory over Inter Milan

Liverpool secured a good lead in San Siro after a tough game against inter Milan.

Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Diogo Jota suffered an injury “around the ankle ligament” in Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League round of 16 victory away at Inter Milan.

The Reds were far from perfect against an Inter side which looked dangerous at times, but they held their own in the San Siro and took the ascendancy towards the end of the second half with goals from Robert Firmino and Mohamed Salah to clinch a 2-0 first-leg win.

Substitute Firmino had come on for the injured Jota at half-time and, alongside Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and Luis Diaz, was one of four changes who helped the Reds win a game which at times they seemed more likely to lose. Klopp’s men have now won all seven of their fixtures in this season’s Champions League.

Jota was an unexpected half-time withdrawal in Milan and Klopp and discussed the injury the Portuguese suffered after the match.

“I’m really happy with everything, apart from that Diogo had to go off with something around the ankle ligament,” the German said.

“We will see, we don’t know exactly. He could have played on, maybe that’s a good sign, but at half-time, the ankle was swollen anyway so we knew we had to change.”

Diogo Jota in action during the UEFA Champions League clash at the San Siro before his half-time withdrawal through injury (Image: Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/Getty Images)

Any extended absence for Jota now would be a significant blow, with the 25-year-old having scored 17 goals in 32 appearances so far this campaign and also entering into a sensational goal scoring form which kept the reds on a winning streak despite the absence of their main attacking duo Sadio Mane and Mo Salah in the AFCON tournament.

Klopp also praised the Reds for their performance in a “physical” encounter in northern Italy and declared they were well “deserved” winners.

“It was an incredibly physical game so we had to find a way. We didn’t have a brilliant day but a good enough day to be deserved winners because we scored two wonderful goals. They had their moments, but mainly counter-attacks when we lost the ball in the wrong spaces.”

The return leg takes place at Anfield on 8 March, with the Red’s strong favourites to progress to the quarter-final.

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