Pep Lijnders has confirmed that Diogo Jota will travel to Dubai for Liverpool’s World Cup training camp next month.
The Reds are set to play two friendly games in the city as they make the best use of the six-week break for the World Cup. And speaking to liverpoolfc.com, assistant manager Lijnders confirmed that injured pair Jota and Luis Diaz would be going with them.
“Luis definitely, if everything goes to plan,” said the Dutch coach. “We can’t wait to see him [Diaz] back. He is this player who smiles when he has the ball at his feet. Diogo will join us to continue his rehab. The conditions to train and recover in Dubai are just very, very good.”
The inference is that Diaz will join in with full training, whereas Jota won’t quite be ready just yet.
Still, it’ll be good for the morale of the squad, and of Jota himself, to have Liverpool’s No.20 in and around the camp.
Liverpool waiting on fully fit attack to fire
And so, the weird break that we’ve all been dreading over the last 12 years is finally upon us.
But fret not. After a three-week hiatus, Liverpool will return in some kind of form in the run up to Christmas.
With Diaz looking likely to be involved, that return will be bigger and better than the Liverpool we saw over the last few weeks.
The Reds have missed him immensely during his month-and-a-bit on the side-lines. Although Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez have performed well, none of the trio offer what the Colombian does.
Nunez has done a decent impression out on the left, but he’s much more effective centrally.
As the Uruguayan comes into some form, it’s exciting to see how he and Diaz will link up together. Diaz memorably laid an assist on a plate for Nunez against Arsenal in October – the last game he played before injury.
Since then, Nunez has plundered six more goals. With his confidence up, he’ll surely be wreaking even more havoc alongside Diaz. Both players are capable of inducing chaos in opposition defences. The two together could be so, so lethal.
And then there’s Jota. Unfortunately, the Portuguese has become something of a forgotten man since Diaz’s arrival and his own injury struggles. But he too was playing well before his latest issue. Fingers crossed he’s back soon and stays healthy from there.
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