Jota returned to action in Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at Anfield on Thursday night after missing three months of action due to a knee injury.
With Liverpool struggling for form and looking blunt in front of goal, the Portuguese’s return is being seen as a big boost for Jurgen Klopp’s ailing side.
Jota scored nine goals in 18 appearances for Liverpool before his injury, but Warnock stressed that the Reds cannot expect too much from him too soon as he will take some time before he can hit those high levels again.
He insisted that his return is a boost because of his ability as a forward and his performances earlier in the season, but indicated that Jota will need time to trust himself again after recovering from a bad injury.
Warnock said on LFC TV: “You have got to be so careful, people have got to be careful to think that he will be fully fit.
“He is fit as in the fact that he is going to be able to get back on to a football pitch and perform.
“But to get to the levels that he was at before he was injured could take four or five weeks.
“And that’s what the issue when you bring a player back after a layoff of three months.
“We know the form that he was in before he got that injury.
“He is a threat in behind, he is a very clever player to get in between defenders, he wants to come off defenders and turn and run at them, he is calm with the ball, his pressing – the way he presses defenders to win the ball back higher up the pitch.
“He will definitely be a bonus, but it is just how fit he is, match sharpness, how confident he is that he has fully recovered from that injury.
“That’s a psychological matter as do you have that trust in yourself and what you have done behind the scenes to make sure that you are at your best.”
It remains to be seen whether Jota starts when Liverpool host Fulham on Sunday, with the Reds desperate to return to winning ways.
