Liverpool have postponed the scheduled return of players for pre-season training following the tragic death of forward Diogo Jota in a car accident in Spain.
The 28-year-old striker and his brother Andre Silva were killed when their vehicle crashed on the A-52 motorway near Zamora in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The first group of Arne Slot's squad had been due to report to the club's AXA training complex on Friday for initial physical assessments after their summer break.
However, the club has cancelled these plans as they come to terms with the devastating loss.
Liverpool have postponed the scheduled return of players for pre-season training following the tragic death of forward Diogo Jota in a car accident in Spain
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The accident occurred just ten miles from the Portuguese border, with reports indicating a tyre blowout whilst overtaking another vehicle caused the fatal crash.
Jota and his brother were travelling to Santander to catch a ferry to England, having been advised against flying due to recent lung surgery.
The pair were heading for a Brittany Ferries service from Santander to Plymouth, which departed at 4pm on Thursday and arrived in Devon at 11.15am on Friday.
The footballer had undergone surgery for a pneumothorax, or collapsed lung, which he had suffered during the season. He had delayed the operation from May until after Portugal's Nations League victory against Spain earlier this month.
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Liverpool fans have flocked to Anfield to pay tribute to Diogo Jota
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According to his physiotherapist Miguel Goncalves, who works at Hospital São João in Porto, the brothers had planned to drive at night because it was cooler.
They intended to stop at a hotel in the Burgos area to rest during the eight-hour journey.
Goncalves, who had been treating Jota just five hours before the crash, strongly refuted suggestions the brothers had been partying.
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"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," he told Portuguese outlet Record.
The physiotherapist revealed he had last seen the pair at around 8.30pm on Wednesday evening.
"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," Goncalves said.
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He described Jota as "excited, confident in his recovery and enthusiastic" about the upcoming season, calling him "an unparalleled professional" who had made an extraordinary recovery.
The brothers were travelling in a Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder, worth approximately £180,000, which has a top speed exceeding 200mph and can accelerate from 0-60mph in 3.1 seconds. Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
Goncalves confirmed that Jota had been scheduled for a medical appointment at Liverpool on Monday to assess his recovery.
Diogo Jota had planned to miss Liverpool's pre-season tour before his death
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The footballer had told his physiotherapist he would miss Liverpool's pre-season tour to Japan to focus on strengthening his recovery.
Just two weeks before his death, Jota had married his girlfriend in a Catholic ceremony in his home city of Porto.
Mourners gathered at a wake in Portugal on Friday morning, with the brothers' funeral scheduled for 10am on Saturday at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar in Sao Cosme.
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