Liverpool injury list and expected return dates including Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Arthur Melo
Jota #Jota
Luis Diaz has suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from a knee injury and headed back to Merseyside, where he has successfully undergone surgery on his lateral collateral ligament.
The 25-year-old could be sidelined until March. It is a huge blow for Diaz, who had not featured for the Reds since suffering the initial problem during the 3-2 defeat at Arsenal in early October.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will now have just Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez as senior attackers at his disposal given Diogo Jota is still nursing the calf injury he sustained against Manchester City in October.
Here is the latest on the Reds’ remaining injury issues, starting with Jota.
Diogo Jota
Like Diaz, the Portugal international is among Liverpool’s long-term absentees after he pulled up during the closing stages of the 1-0 victory over City on October 16. Jota departed the field on a stretcher and was immediately ruled out of the World Cup by Klopp, who admitted his quest back to full fitness would be a “long time”.
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“[It’s a] pretty serious injury in the calf muscle, and now the recovery process starts,” said Klopp at the time. “We can say that because he will not be in for a long time; we talk about months.”
Arthur Melo
Arthur Melo was included as part of Liverpool’s 33-man squad for their mid-season training camp in Dubai, where he is continuing with his rehabilitation from a thigh injury he picked up in training in October.
At the time, it was expected that the Juventus loanee would be sidelined for up to four months and miss most of his temporary stay at Anfield. However, recent reports have claimed that the Brazilian is in fact ahead with his recovery following positive tests.
It has been claimed that he could be back in training at the end of December and therefore could make a return to action by the end of January.
Harvey Elliott
Harvey Elliott was the latest Liverpool player to pull up with an injury as he was withdrawn in the first half of the Dubai Super Cup defeat to Ligue 1 side Lyon on Sunday.
The 19-year-old started the game but only managed 28 minutes before he was replaced by Melkamu Frauendorf and he was seen shaking his head as he left the field of play.
However, after the 3-1 defeat, Klopp played down fear of a long-term absence for the midfielder as he told reporters in the Middle East that they were “lucky” in catching Elliott’s injury early.
“Harvey got a knock before we scored, but I think we were lucky,” said Klopp. “He looks fine now, but he feels it; that’s normal, there was contact. But I hope we were lucky in that moment.”
Elliott has since returned to full training out in Dubai and is therefore expected to play a part in the friendly against AC Milan on Friday.
Naby Keita
Having not featured for the Reds since the closing stages of the Community Shield victory over Manchester City in late July, Naby Keita finally made his long-anticipated return to action on Sunday afternoon in Dubai.
The midfielder was part of the squad Klopp selected for the second half of the clash with Laurent Blanc’s Lyon side and he was introduced with 28 minutes of the friendly remaining.
Joel Matip
Joel Matip picked up his first minutes in action since October 9 as he started the Reds’ defeat to Lyon at the Al Maktoum Stadium.
Like Diaz, the defender was a causality of the 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium over two months ago as he suffered a calf problem against the Gunners.
However, like Keita, he has participated in all sessions since the Reds’ squad descended on Dubai last week and could be in line to make his competitive return in the Carabao Cup fixture at Manchester City next week.