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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Jurgen Klopp offers Diogo Jota and Alisson fitness updates and reacts to 'disappointing' Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injury

Diogo Jota faces a race against time to be fit for the start of the Premier League season – as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handed Liverpool another injury setback.

Jota underwent scans on Thursday having suffered a hamstring problem during training the previous night on the Singapore leg of the Reds’ tour of the Far East.

Liverpool were already treading carefully with the Portugal striker’s fitness after he suffered a similar issue when on international duty last month.

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Alisson Becker also sustained a problem during training that ruled him out of Friday’s 2-0 friendly win over Crystal Palace.

And while Klopp believes the goalkeeper should be back for the Community Shield against Manchester City on July 31, he was more gloomy over Jota’s prospects with the Premier League opener at promoted Fulham the following weekend.

“Not exactly sure (how long they will be out),” said the Reds boss. “Ali has a chance for City, Diogo not. Ali is an abdominal muscle. It’s nothing serious but he can’t do goalie training at the moment and shouldn’t play in this moment, but he can still do some other things.

“He has a pre-season so he doesn’t lose time, but these kind of things happen. The boys have to travel a lot and Diogo trained and you never know exactly.

“They are only little things, nothing serious, but we have to be careful because the rest of the season is much longer than the start.”

It means Adrian is presently Liverpool’s sole senior available goalkeeper with Caoimhin Kelleher having not travelled on the tour due to an issue the return from which has yet to have a timescale.

Liverpool suffered a further injury blow when Oxlade-Chamberlain pulled up with a hamstring problem shortly before half-time at the Singapore National Stadium. The midfielder will undergo scans when the Reds, who flew home immediately after the match, return to Merseyside.

And Klopp said: “It’s very disappointing for him and for us. Ox had trained all the time really well and had looked really good. It has happened in the past with Ox, when he has had intense periods, this is just a muscle thing and we’ve had worse situations. I don’t know exactly how long it will take.

“But he’ll come back and it will be all fine. He’s a top class player who can help us.”

Joe Gomez also missed the Palace game as a precaution after leaving early from Thursday’s open training session.

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