Liverpool Football Club has delayed the staggered return of its players for pre-season training as the team mourns the sudden passing of forward Diogo Jota.
In an official statement, the club expressed deep sorrow over what they described as an “unimaginable loss,” following Jota’s death in a car crash early Thursday morning near Zamora, in northwestern Spain.
Jota was traveling with his younger brother, Andre Silva, when their car veered off the road due to a tyre blowout during an overtaking maneuver. The vehicle then caught fire on the A-52 motorway in Cernadilla, close to the Portuguese border.
The 28-year-old was en route to Santander to catch a ferry back to southern England ahead of Liverpool’s pre-season training on Monday. He had been advised against flying due to recent lung surgery.
Miguel Goncalves, a respiratory physiotherapist who had been treating Jota for a partially collapsed lung, said the footballer was recovering well and eager to rejoin his team.
“There was a minor collapse in the lower part of his right lung, but after post-op physiotherapy, his condition was nearly perfect,” Goncalves told Record. “When I last saw him, he was pain-free, optimistic, and looking forward to the new season.”
Following Jota’s death, the BBC confirmed that Liverpool players originally scheduled to return for physical assessments on Friday will now resume training on Monday instead. The team is set to face Preston North End in their opening pre-season match on Sunday, July 13.
The funeral for Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. in the town of Gondomar, Portugal, at the Matriz de Gondomar church, located about 33 kilometers from Porto.
A wake will be held Friday at 4 p.m. at the Sao Cosme Chapel, around a half-hour from Jota’s hometown. Father Jose Manuel Macedo confirmed the funeral arrangements to CNN Portugal, saying, “The bodies will arrive at the chapel for the wake, and the funeral mass will follow on Saturday morning.”
He added, “We’re here to honor their lives, to grieve with the community, and to share in Christian hope.”
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