Portugal's World Cup plans took a blow on Tuesday when Liverpool forward Diogo Jota was ruled out of the tournament in Qatar due to a calf injury.
Jota was carried off the pitch on a stretcher late in Liverpool's 1-0 Premier League win over Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
And Reds manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed that the injury will mean Jots is out for "months" and results in the 25-year-old missing the World Cup that kicks off in the Middle East on November 20.
“It’s really not good news about Diogo. Yes, he will miss the World Cup,” said Klopp, before Liverpool's Premier League game at home to West Ham United on Wednesday.
“[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 as for Portugal.
“[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.
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“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.
“He's surprisingly OK so far. He's an incredibly smart boy. I think he knew it when we carried him off the pitch.”
“We passed each other after the game and he explained pretty much what had happened. I think he knew it was a serious one and could be pretty impactful for his World Cup dreams.”
Jota was an expected starter for Portugal in a World Cup group that includes Ghana, South Korea and Uruguay. Their campaign begins against the African nation on November 24.
Portugal also lost winger Pedro Neto last week due to an ankle injury on club duty, for Wolves, that requires surgery.
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Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814