Liverpool forward Diogo Jota to miss Qatar World Cup: 'My dream collapsed'

Liverpool's injured forward Diogo Jota on Tuesday confirmed that he would miss the Qatar World Cup.

Jota suffered a calf injury in the final minutes of Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday in the Premier League. The Portuguese playmaker looked in terrible pain as he was stretchered off the Anfield pitch.

The25-year-old Jota, who was one of the best players for Liverpool against Pep Guardiola's City, is set to miss nine games for the Reds prior to the international break.

After such a good night at Anfield mine ended in the worst way ! In the last minute, one of my dreams collapsed. I will be one more supporting from the outside, club and country, and fighting to be back as soon as possible. You'll Never Walk Alone," wrote Jota in a social media post.

Ahead of Liverpool's home league game against West Ham, boss Jurgen Klopp revealed that while Jota does not need surgery, the player's injury in the calf muscle is "pretty serious."

"It's really not good news about Diogo. Yes, he will miss the World Cup. [It's a] pretty serious injury in the calf muscle and now the recovery process starts. That's it pretty much. That is the first diagnosis, which was pretty clear, and all the rest will now follow in the next few days. It is very sad news for the boy, and for us as well of course [and] for Portugal," Klopp told reporters.

The German manager did not give a certain return date for Jota, who had already missed the beginning of the 2022-23 season due to a reoccurred hamstring injury.

"[It will have a] big impact. So now we can say that because he will not be in for a long time; we talk about months. So, we will see. I don't want to put now a number on it because I always hope in the middle of the rehab there is a very positive development and we can cut days off the rehab phase, but it will be long," added Klopp in the same conference.

Liverpool are already without Luis Diaz, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the year. However, he won't miss the World Cup as Colombia did not qualify for the Qatar tournament, which is scheduled to go underway on Nov. 20.

After Wednesday's league fixture against West Ham, Klopp and Co are scheduled to take a trip to West Bridgford to lock horns with bottom-placed Nottingham Forest. With 13 points in nine games, Liverpool are placed eighth in the Premier League table.

Jota, whose last competitive goal was for Portugal in their UEFA Nations League's 4-0 win over Czech Republic, has not scored for Liverpool as yet in the 2022-23 campaign. The Portuguese forward has assisted five goals in eight competitive appearances for the Anfield side this term.

Jota's sideling has certainly come as a massive setback for Portugal, who have never won the coveted World Cup trophy. In 29 caps for Portugal, Jota has netted 10 goals and provided eight assists.