Diogo Jota helped Portugal qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but missing the tournament was the hardest moment of his career.
The Liverpool striker looked all set to play a prominent role for his country in Qatar until he was stretched out during a match against Manchester City in October after suffering a serious calf injury.
“I finished last season in the national team with an injury in the last game,” Jota said exclusively FourFourTwo. “So I started the pre-season injured. I came back, but got injured again during the preparation.
“I came back and started playing a few games, then I got a bad injury in October, probably because my preparation wasn’t what it usually is. It was the biggest injury of my career.”
“If you feel something like I do, and you leave on a stretcher, it doesn’t look good. You still have hope it’s not serious. As we were so close to the World Cup I just hoped I would recover in time.
“When I was told I wouldn’t do that and I couldn’t go to the World Cup, it was the hardest blow I’ve had in my career. Just sadness.”
“I had the chance to play my first World Cup and I knew I was playing an important part for the national team – I had played a big part in qualifying so I felt I deserved to be there. But I couldn’t be.”
His colleagues at Liverpool did their best to console him, as did manager Jürgen Klopp. “The next day he gave me a good hug,” said Jota. “He knew there wasn’t much to say at the time – he was just trying to comfort me. And during my rehabilitation he asked how I was every time he saw me.
“You can see that he cares about you. That’s all you can wish for: that the person in charge of the team cares about all the players and shows that he counts on you when you get back.”
Jota did travel to Qatar to watch one World Cup match. “Liverpool had a training camp in Dubai in December, so it wasn’t far, and I went to Portugal’s last group game against South Korea,” he explains.
“We lost, so I said, ‘I’m not coming back!’ “I was probably not a lucky charm. I was there to support the team, but I also wanted to play. Then when you see the team struggle to score against Morocco in the quarter-finals, you know you can make an impact, but you can’t. “
Read the full interview with Jota in the new edition of FourFourTwonow in stores
Jota wearing the new adidas X Speedportal boots, part of the Heatspawn Pack, which also includes the Predator and Copa boots, on sale now HERE
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