Liverpool's £54M forward has to manage fitness issue after coming off for country

Liverpool's £54M rated forward Diogo Jota will have to be managed after coming off for his country with a fitness-related issue.

Jota came off during Portugal's 1-0 loss to Spain in the UEFA Nations League game after complaining about fatigue.

It was a situation that he took into his own hands and it's clear he's still building up to full fitness. Jurgen Klopp will have to be careful with the player in the coming weeks as the Reds face a hectic schedule.

Jota's fitness issue

Jota has revealed he asked to be taken off during Portugal's UEFA Nations League defeat to Spain due to fatigue.

The forward had started the game before asking to come off in the 77th minute of the game, as he was replaced by Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha.

“I didn't have a pre-season. It's only my second game as a starter this season and I was already feeling a little tired at the end of the season.”

Portugal coach Fernando Santos: “Jota asked to leave. It doesn't matter now, but that wasn't the replacement I was going to make. I was going to put Jota in a different position so that the team could go up and have more possession.”

Jota had suffered a hamstring injury in pre-season, just days after returning to full-time training with the squad during their pre-season tour in Asia. It was a re-occurrence of a very similar injury that he had suffered just months before that.

Hence why he's only played 103 minutes for Liverpool this season - but this incident shows he's still building back up to full-match fitness.

Nunez or Jota?

With Darwin Nunez scoring for Uruguay during the international break, he may be set to lead the line for the Reds when the Premier League returns this weekend.

Jota may still start, but it seems unlikely. It also means Nunez will have the edge for at least the next week or two and if he can manage to score in one or even both games then it could well be the start of him cementing himself as the number one forward.

Whilst Nunez has yet to hit the ground running he has a chance to do so now considering Jota isn't fully fit and he is. He will get plenty of chances, but he has it all to prove whilst his Portuguese teammate has already proven he is good enough to lead the line.

With nine games across two competitions in October, it's likely both will be rotated any way. But both are competing to see who will start in the big games, which will have a long-term effect across the season. It's simply all to play for.