Arne Slot subtly teased potential Diogo Jota return date amid ‘lucky’ post-match confession

Diogo Jota was Liverpool’s hero against Nottingham Forest in midweek, but he was forced to watch on from afar as Darwin Nunez assumed the Superman mantle away to Brentford on Saturday.

The 28-year-old secured a point for his team at the City Ground with his first touch of the ball just 22 seconds after coming off the bench, but a subsequent injury concern precluded him from training and he wasn’t in the Reds’ matchday squad in west London yesterday.

The role of supersub instead fell to his Uruguayan teammate at the Gtech Community Stadium, and with our number 9 already on a yellow card for removing his shirt in celebrating his first stoppage time goal, he then netted again before a late lunge on Nathan Collins which could easily have earned him a second booking.

Slot teases Jota return date after latest injury setback

Arne Slot conceded afterwards that Nunez was fortunate not have been booked for that tackle on the Brentford defender, which wouldn’t have altered the result yesterday but would’ve triggered a suspension for our next Premier League game against Ipswich.

That bone of contention notwithstanding, the Liverpool head coach is hopeful of having Jota back in time to face Kieran McKenna’s side next Saturday.

The Dutchman said after yesterday’s match (via London World): “It would have been realistic if that [Nunez foul on Collins] was a yellow… I couldn’t have complained if he got a second yellow for this foul.

“It wouldn’t have had any impact in this game, it was at 2-0, but it would definitely have made an impact on the next one because Jota was not available today.

“Let’s hope he is for the next one, but then Darwin would also not have been available too [if he’d been sent off]. We were a bit lucky in this situation, but being lucky once in a while is nice.”

Jota is brilliantly clinical but all too injury-prone

First things first, we’ll hold our hands up and admit that Nunez did get away with one with his challenge on Collins, which could easily have earned him a second yellow card and would’ve tempered the euphoria that his stoppage time brace sparked among Liverpool fans.

Having just returned from a one-match suspension for accruing five Premier League bookings prior to the Forest game, Slot would’ve been raging with the Uruguayan had he gotten himself sent off against Brentford and duly banned for the Ipswich game.

The Reds boss has subtly teased next Saturday’s match as a potential return date for Jota, whose time at Anfield has unfortunately been ravaged by constant injury concerns – the forward was sidelined for no fewer than 29 games for his club in 2024 (Transfermarkt).

The 28-year-old is a brilliantly clinical finisher, with a return of eight goals from just 960 minutes of game-time this season (one every 120 minutes), and his instant impact off the bench against Forest showed just how devastating he can be.

Even with Nunez escaping a red card yesterday, let’s hope that our number 20 recovers in time to face Ipswich next weekend, thus giving Slot even greater scope for selection in attack.

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