Guinea manager Kaba Diawara has stated that Liverpool’s Naby Keita is close to making a comeback as the player continues to be absent from the team’s roster.
Since moving to Anfield, the midfielder has occasionally performed well, but not frequently enough to earn a regular starting position. Instead, the talk surrounding his career on Merseyside has been dominated by injuries.
It’s no different this season, either. In fact, given Liverpool’s recent decisions, Keita has received more attention due to his injury situation.
He was left out of Reds manager Jurgen Klopp’s squad for the first round of the biggest competition in Europe.
However, according to Guinea manager Diawara, Keita’s return to playing time is imminent.
“His situation is improving and he is even ahead of schedule,” the coach said.
“We took a group of 24 players precisely to give him a chance to be able 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. Chances are we could get him back by then.”
International friendlies between Guinea and Algeria and Ivory Coast are scheduled for later this month. According to The Liverpool Echo, Keita won’t play because he needs to keep improving his fitness.