Diogo Jota is a fresh fitness doubt for Liverpool's trip to Brentford, which would be a blow for the Portuguese forward following his substitute goal against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old striker recently missed almost two months with a chest injury and has played off the bench in the Reds' last six league games, but his only start came against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup.
And Jota, who scored with his first touch as a substitute for Forest in the 1-1 draw, has now suffered another setback with Arne Slot admitting it will be a 'battle' for him to make the tough trip to West London on Saturday to play. .
“There is no doubt that Jota is an important player for us,” the boss said on Friday morning. 'He wasn't at training yesterday [Thursday] so we have to see where he is today.
'I'm not sure if he'll be available tomorrow. We have to wait and see. He felt like a small downside in the half hour he was playing (against Forest), he was able to finish the game but complained a bit about it afterwards.
'That's why he didn't train on Thursday. We have to see if he is available today and tomorrow. It will be difficult to have him on the pitch tomorrow, but we hope to see him in the near future.”
The Premier League leaders are also not guaranteed to have fellow striker Luis Diaz in their ranks after the Colombian reported a sore throat and illness this week and also skipped training on Thursday.
However, as things stand, Diaz is expected to recover and travel to Brentford.
Given Jota's injury history and Darwin Nunez's lack of form, Slot and Co have not yet made a full decision on whether fellow striker Jayden Danns will be loaned out this month.
Several Championship clubs are keeping tabs on the 19-year-old.
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