Liverpool’s Naby Keita has been included in Guinea’s squad for upcoming friendlies against Algeria and Ivory Coast, despite Jurgen Klopp insisting the midfielder is injured.
The 27-year-old entered the final year of his contract with Liverpool, and reports towards the end of the summer transfer window suggested he was “unhappy” at the club, with no contract resolution in sight.
Keita, whose time at Anfield has been plagued by injuries, is said to have picked up another problem the day before Liverpool’s loss to Man United last month.
He has not been seen since, and Klopp was reluctant to go into detail about the nature of the problem, simply describing it as “a muscle injury”.
The Reds’ squad for their Champions League group stage campaign did not include Keita, suggesting he will not be available until November at the earliest.
However, it has now emerged that the Guinean captain has been named in the last call for their two friendlies at the end of September.
Guinea head coach Kaba Diawara agrees with Liverpool’s line that the player is injured, but claims Keita is “ahead of schedule” and could be ready to play against Algeria and Ivory Coast.
“Naby Keita is injured and he is recovering from his injury,” explained Diawara after naming Keita in his 24-man squad.
“His situation is improving and he is even ahead.
“We took a group of 24 players precisely to give him the opportunity to count on him because he is a very important player for us, on and off the pitch, he is our captain.
“We are monitoring his situation very closely.
“We still have a little over two weeks before our first game. We will most likely get it back by then.”
Those words certainly don’t line up with Klopp’s most recent comments on Keita’s fitness, where he claimed the midfielder would still be sidelined for “a while,” along with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is recovering from a serious injury. hamstring injury.
The contrast in the two lines between club and country would suggest there could be something more going on behind the scenes, especially given reports that Keita was unhappy with his contract situation.
Is this the beginning of the end of Keita’s career at Liverpool? It will be interesting to see how this one develops!
