As things stand, it appears Jota will be fit enough to at least make the bench in when Liverpool take on Chelsea in the League Cup final.
An injury suffered in the first half of last week’s Champions League Round of 16 tie against Inter Milan has seen Liverpool forward Diogo Jota out of action for league games against Norwich City and Leeds United, but the striker is on track to face Chelsea.
That’s the story today from club-connected journalists, who say the Portuguese marksman has reacted positively to treatment after scans last week revealed no significant damage and that as of today Jota is well positioned to play in Sunday’s League Cup final.
A start is even said to be possible, though realisitcally most will expect that if he is fit enough to take part on the weekend it will be a bench role for the returning Jota, the club’s second-top scorer this season with 17 goals and three assists in 32 total appearances.
However, fellow forward Roberto Firmino—who replaced Jota in the second half against Inter before being ruled out ahead of Liverpool’s next match due to a thigh injury—is said to not be a possibility, with the Brazilian’s return timeline currently unclear.
In their absence, Liverpool have started the past two games with Sadio Mané leading the line and flanked by Mohamed Salah on the right as usual and new January signing Luis Diaz taking on Mané’s usual role on the left of the club’s deadly attacking trident.
The expectation, then, is that those three will start their third game in a row on Sunday in the final, though Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino have both been key to the club’s cup run and one of them starting against Chelsea would not be a major surprise.
