Details emerge explaining Diogo Jota car crash, with player en-route to Liverpool

New details have emerged explaining the tragic car accident that killed Liverpool player Diogo Jota in Spain on Thursday.

The 28-year-old died alongside his brother, Andre Silva, in a traffic incident in the province of Zamora in northern Spain.

While tributes pour in from around the world of football, it has been explained that Jota and his brother were in northern Spain in order to get the ferry back to England for Jota to report for pre-season training next week.

It has been reported by local authorities that the tyre of Jota’s Lamborghini SUV burst while overtaking a vehicle, leading to the car skidding off road and catching fire.

The reason for Jota travelling to the UK via car and ferry, rather than flying, is said to be due to surgery he had on a lung issue that affected the 28-year-old’s campaign last season.

CNN Portugal’s sports editor Rui Loura is said to have explained: “The surgery he had was lung surgery and he had been advised against flying following this.

“He was on his way to the northern Spanish port city of Santander to cross by ferry and reach the UK that way and carry on with the car once he reached Britain. He was on his way to Liverpool with his brother.”

Another Portuguese journalist, Victor Pinto, told Correio da Manha TV: “Diogo Jota sometimes chose to travel by road because he had some pulmonary discomfort, nothing serious, and as we know, there is a ferry boat that connects the south of England to Spain.”

Such reporting has since been corroborated by BBC Sport’s Dan Roan, who writes:

BBC Sport has been told that Jota had undergone minor surgery so doctors had advised against flying.

As result, he was planning to return to Liverpool for pre-season training, due to begin on Monday, by ferry.

This is understood to involve him travelling by car from Porto to get a ferry from Santander in northern Spain.

Zamora, close to the Portuguese border, is around 190 miles from Porto, and a similar distance from the port.

It is understood Jota had completed the journey in reverse to get to Porto for his wedding.

Jota returned from injury initially in January, before suffering a minor setback, with Arne Slot at the time speaking of the forward’s importance to the team.

“I hope people understand why we are still cautious now, because 12 games to go, and you tell me and I see the same, how much of a threat he is,” said Slot.

Jota missed 18 games in total after suffering what was described at the time as a rib injury after colliding with Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo on October 22.

Jurgen Klopp is among those to pay tribute to Jota, who played 182 times for Liverpool, scoring 65 goals.