Mohamed Salah 'truly lost for words' after Diogo Jota's death as Liverpool forward issues emotional tribute

Salah expressed his feelings of sadness and confusion in a post on Instagram after former teammate and friend Jota tragically passed away in a car accident in the early hours of Thursday morning, aged just 28. The Egyptian also sent out his words of support to Jota's wife, whom he married under two weeks ago, their three children and his and brother Andre Silva's parents, in addition to all those close to the two brothers.

Tributes have been pouring in from across the footballing world and beyond since the news broke on Thursday. What makes Salah's words so poignant is that, despite giving himself over 24 hours to process what had happened before sending out the message, he still felt he could not find the right words to say. That was powerful in itself, and will reflect the heart-breaking reality faced by those close to Diogo and Andre as they come to terms with the news.

Salah said: "I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. Team mates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back. My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children. Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten."

This news is likely to remain at the forefront of the minds and hearts of the footballing world for some time to come. Jota and Silva's funeral is to take place in Porto on Saturday morning, with tributes continuing to surface about the impact Jota had on the lives of those who knew him, but also on the lives of fans who were given joy by his performances on the pitch, but also his personality off it. There was a minute's silence ahead of Portugal Women's European Championship opener against Spain on Thursday evening and similar tributes are set to continue.