Luis Diaz

Liverpool look set to be without Luis Díaz for a spell. That's obviously bad news, but it might make one aspect of the Darwin Núñez plan easier to ...

[Jota](https://www.liverpool.com/liverpool-fc-news/features/liverpool-darwin-nunez-diogo-jota-25214796) back in the summer of 2020, he was primarily a left winger. Jota is currently on something of a dry spell for the first time since joining Liverpool (19 games without a goal), but he has never been one to stay out of the goals for long. With the Uruguayan holding the fort as the number nine, Jota can flourish back where he started. An extended run on his preferred flank can offer a reminder of why Liverpool parted with £41m in the first place. That appears to leave Jota as a victim of circumstance at Liverpool once again, where he has never really been able to nail down a sustained starting space despite impressing. When deployed as striker, Jota was a breath of fresh air precisely because of the ‘purer’ number nine instincts he brought to the table — a deceptive talent in the air, clever movement, and more of an instinct to get in behind than Firmino possesses. This amounts to something of a reset. A two-striker formation nonetheless gives scope to continue with Jota through the middle, as indeed Klopp did from the start against Arsenal. [Liverpool](https://www.liverpool.com) fans are understandably fearing the worst, with knee injuries always a source of particular concern. Liverpool have already had a 40-minute preview of the likely answer. Whether he can continue with his fledgling 4-4-2 (more like a 4-2-4 in practice) remains to be seen: there are now only four fit senior attackers, so it would certainly be a risk. If Liverpool could have chosen one player to protect from injury throughout the duration of the season, Luis Díaz would surely have been high up the list.