NewsKlopp: I had to hug Diogo but he's so strong mentally, a role model
Jürgen Klopp considers Diogo Jota to be a role model when it comes to mental strength and has explained how the forward will be supported throughout his recovery from injury.
Jota is facing an extended spell on the sidelines due to the calf problem he sustained in the closing stages of last weekend’s victory over Manchester City.
The issue will preclude him from representing Portugal at the World Cup but Klopp has no doubt that, with the help of those around him, the 25-year-old will come through his period of rehabilitation.
“He’s an incredibly tough cookie, to be honest, it’s unbelievable,” the boss told Liverpoolfc.com on Friday.
“When I saw him yesterday on crutches and he wanted to shake my hand, I had to give him a hug. I said, ‘It’s more for me than for you, to be honest’ because it’s a shame, the whole thing: how it happened, that it happened, when it happened, all these kind of things.
“But he is incredibly strong, it’s unbelievable. He is a role model in that. He really takes it like it is: ‘You cannot change it anymore, so let’s work from here.’
“So yes, we support him as much as we can but we all know, and we were all involved in professional football, especially as a player, how lonesome rehab phases can be anyway because you spend a lot of time at the training ground for your rehab but then all the other time is still long, when you are at home. But we all know with the baby, his missus and the dogs he is in good hands there.
“So, it will take time and we have to give him time but like I said previously in different situations, we will wait for him like a good wife waits for her husband in prison.”
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