Wolves have been dealt a major blow ahead of their Friday night clash with Liverpool after Diogo Jota was ruled out through injury.
The 22-year-old has been in sparkling form recently, contributing two goals and two assists in his last three league outings. He picked up a knock last time out against Bournemouth though, and was substituted by manager Nuno Espirito Santo at half-time as a result.
Wolves' Portuguese boss has now confirmed that Jota will not be available for selection against the Reds on Friday night, though he remains confident of securing a positive result.
“We are ok. We are sure of Diogo [Jota], he is not an option for tomorrow," Espirito Santo said, as quoted by Wolves' official website.
"Let’s see, but tomorrow it’s impossible. He has an injury and hopefully he’s going to be back soon. All the players are options and we will prepare for it and we will compete to the maximum of our efforts and beliefs, trying everything that we can.”
His goals against Chelsea and Newcastle were his first goals of the Premier League season, but his absence will no doubt boost Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool as they seek to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 18 games.
The Reds may hand a start to in-form Xherdan Shaqiri after he climbed off the bench last weekend to score twice against Manchester United, and there may also be a place in the team for James Milner, who is available once more after recovering from a muscle injury.
Liverpool's forward line is once more expected to be led by Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, as Klopp's side look to take advantage of playing first this weekend by opening up a four point gap over title rivals Manchester City.
Source : 90min