Portugal's Diogo Jota to miss World Cup through injury

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Portugal forward Diogo Jota will miss the World Cup because of the injury he sustained against Manchester City, his Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said on Tuesday.

Jota was taken off on a stretcher in stoppage time of Liverpool’s 1-0 win on Sunday and has a serious calf muscle injury.

“It will be for a long time,” Klopp said in a news conference about Jota’s expected absence from the tournament that starts in Qatar in five weeks. “We talk about months, so we will see.

“He knew it when we carried him off the pitch. At that moment he knew already it was a serious one and it could be pretty impactful for his World Cup dreams.”

Jota was an expected starter for Portugal in a World Cup group that includes Ghana, South Korea and Uruguay.

The World Cup starts on Nov. 20 and Portugal begins in Group H four days later.

Portugal also lost winger Pedro Neto last week because of an ankle injury on club duty for Wolverhampton that requires surgery.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup