World Cup doubt? Liverpool and Jota anxiously await news of calf injury suffered against Man City

• Jota injured in dying stages vs City
• Left field on stretcher
• World Cup less than five weeks away

WHAT'S HAPPENING? Jota left the field on a stretcher having gone down in the dying moments of Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. The 25-year-old is understood to have suffered a calf injury and GOAL understands he will undergo further assessment from the Reds' medical staff today, amid fears he is set for a significant lay-off.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: In the immediate term, Jota will miss crucial games for his club, with Liverpool set to play seven times between now and November 12. But beyond that there is the looming spectre of the World Cup, which gets underway in Qatar next month. Jota is a regular for Portugal, who get their Group H campaign up and running against Ghana on November 24.

AND WHAT'S MORE: Liverpool, meanwhile, are already without a host of first-teamers, with Luis Diaz out until December, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate still sidelined and Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain yet to feature at all this season. Trent Alexander-Arnold, however, made an earlier-than-expected return to action as a substitute on Sunday.

STORY IN TWO PHOTOS:

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THE VERDICT: What a cruel blow this would be for a player who has worked so hard to make his way back to full fitness following the hamstring injury which kept him out for two months at the start of the campaign. Jota may not be scoring like he was last season, but his endeavour, aggression and intelligence has helped Liverpool rediscover some of their old form of late, and he will be a big miss for Jurgen Klopp. On a personal level, it would be devastating if the player had to miss out on the biggest footballing event in the world - a tournament he would have fancied himself to make a big impact in, too.

WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL? The Reds are next in action on Wednesday, when they entertain West Ham at Anfield. They then visit Nottingham Forest on Saturday.