Diogo Jota’s Physio Gives Insight Into His Injury and Car Journey Before Death

Diogo Jota’s respiratory physio, Miguel Goncalves, has spoken out after the Liverpool star’s tragic death on Thursday morning.

The footballing world was in mourning when news broke that Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva had lost their lives in a tragic car accident. The duo were travelling in a Lamborghini in Zamora, northern Spain, when their car tyre blew out, sending them off the road.

Goncalves had been working with Jota this summer and spoke to the Liverpool forward hours before he passed away. Goncalves has opened up about their car journey, explaining why Jota and his brother were travelling at night and what they planned to do.

He told Record, per the Metro: “I said goodbye to him and his brother, Andre, at around 8:30 p.m. His brother was a great companion and decided to go with him, to accompany him on the trip, and that way they would also spend more time together.

“The family would arrive later by plane, organize their lives over the weekend and then, on Monday, they had a medical appointment scheduled in Liverpool to assess the situation.

“I’ve read some things on the internet that are regrettable, and I’ve even heard some in the media. To be clear, Diogo and Andre weren’t partying at all, they weren’t in the so-called “good mood” life, they had nothing that deserved any repair. Nothing.”

After his death, it was revealed that Jota was suffering from a lung injury during the final months of the season. He had played through the pain before undergoing surgery to fix the problem over the summer.

Because of his injury, it was recommended to Jota that he travel back to Merseyside for pre-season by car rather than plane. Goncalves gave more details about his injury and his ‘extraordinary recovery’. He also spoke about Jota’s optimism for the new season.

Goncalves continued: “I started working with him last Saturday and I was with him every day until this Wednesday. I said goodbye to him at dinner time.

“He made an extraordinary recovery. He was undoubtedly an unparalleled professional. He strictly followed what I told him, as you could see in the way he was recovering.

“He was excited, confident in his recovery and enthusiastic about the next season. He told me that he would not go on the pre-season tour that Liverpool is going to Japan to strengthen his recovery. He believed he was going to have a great season.”