Jurgen Klopp admitted that a discussion with Liverpool’s medical department is responsible for Diogo Jota being relegated to the bench for the clash with Rangers.
The former Mainz boss instead was forced to name a forward line involving Bobby Firmino, Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho.
“Diogo was not planned [to miss out], that’s why yesterday he was in the press conference,” the German shared ahead of the tie (via the Liverpool Echo).
“Then you get a call from the medical department and ‘maybe he can play but not too long’, oh great.
“Then we had to get someone else in who can play 90 minutes, that’s why he’s on the bench and is available.”
Presumably the Portuguese international might otherwise have played down the middle with Darwin Nunez featuring on the left-wing, which he is capable of playing on.
It’s a shame to hear that the former Wolves man will only be limited to a cameo appearance this evening, though it’s advice not to take lightly given our current injury struggles and the magnitude of the game that awaits us at the weekend.
Hopefully, a bit of rest will do the 25-year-old the world of good without costing us some much-needed points in the Champions League group stages.
We should realistically have enough to get a positive result at the Ibrox and chart a path back towards consistent results ahead of the visit of Pep Guardiola’s men.