Arne Slot hints at reason for Harvey Elliott omissions when discussing Diogo Jota

Arne Slot‘s assessment of Diogo Jota‘s return to action proved insightful when it came to how Harvey Elliott continues to be overlooked despite his availability.

Jota has been steadily integrated back into the team following his rib injury which kept him sidelined for 11 matches, with Liverpool eager to be patient with his return.

The No. 20 played his first 90 minutes since injury against Accrington Stanley, which ruled him out of doing the same at Forest, with Luis Diaz instead chosen as the No. 9.

But Jota still made the all-important contribution off the bench on Tuesday, and Slot was asked in his press conference if he feels his No. 20 is now getting back into a rhythm.

His comments, however, proved more insightful for the players he did not namecheck as he discussed how “difficult” it is post-injury to rediscover intensity – you couldn’t help but think of Elliott.

Slot said: “He (Jota) made a big impact already before when he came in against Fulham (his first game back), but then after that game he had a bit of a setback.

“In the games he came in afterwards, I also felt that he needed a bit more time to get in his rhythm.

“And that’s not only for him. I see this with other players as well. They’re out for a few weeks or a few months and it’s difficult to get this intensity going in these Premier League games immediately.

“It was very pleasing to see that today he might even be better than he was against Fulham when he came in, he had a big impact.

“He was the one, apart from Mo, that had a few chances to score our second goal.”

Jota made six appearances off the bench post-injury before two consecutive starts against Tottenham and Nottingham Forest, with his minutes slowly increased to build up his match fitness.

It is not an opportunity Elliott, for example, has been afforded since fracturing his foot in September. He has instead played just 230 minutes since returning to the squad 13 games ago.

Only last week Slot noted the difficulty in bringing him back into the fold in high-stakes situations, which is almost every game, and thus it is a cycle of little to no involvement that is hard to break.

Similar treatment has been given to Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas after their injuries, but they have at least been considered starting options under Slot with less caution.

The 21-year-old has trust to build with Slot so he can ‘get his intensity going’, but chances to do so are at a premium.