Liverpool boss Arne Slot has confirmed Diogo Jota has suffered a setback in his injury recovery and could be out until December.

The Portugal forward has been absent since suffering a blow to his upper body after Tosin Adarabioyo fell on him during the Reds’ 2-1 win against Chelsea three weeks ago.

It was expected Jota would be back immediately after the international break, and in time for the trip to Southampton and a massive home double header against Real Madrid and Manchester City.

However, he could now miss all of those games, with Slot joking: “We expect him back after the international break. Now, after the international break is six or seven months (of the season) to go!” before confirming “He will be back one or two weeks after the international break.”

In Jota’s absence, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz have stepped up, with the Colombian scoring a hat-trick in Tuesday’s stunning 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool will be looking to head into the final international break until March on top of the Premier League table with a win against Aston Villa on Saturday night.