Jürgen Klopp has been left counting the cost of the international break
Ahead of their return to Premier League action this weekend, it’s emerged Naby Keita is the latest Liverpool player to suffer an injury while away with his country.
Keita, a summer arrival from RB Leipzig, is believed to have pulled a hamstring while playing for Guinea in an African Cup of Nations qualifier with Rwanda. The midfielder pulled up during the first-half of the 1-1 draw in Kigali and, due to an apparent lack of a stretcher at the stadium, was carried off the field by a teammate.
Injury update: Naby Deco Keita of @LFC left the pitch with an injury on the back of a player #Rwanda vs #Guinée #RWAGUI #AFCON2019Q pic.twitter.com/p1DUOFp1xM
— Kayishema Tity Thierry (@TityKayishema) October 16, 2018
The extent of the injury is unknown at this stage, but it has prompted Liverpool to take extreme measures to get him back to Merseyside as soon as possible to assess any damage. A report from The Mirror claims the club chartered a private jet to retrieve Keita from Rwanda and he will now undergo tests when he arrives back at Melwood to determine how serious the injury is.
News of Keita’s injury comes after Mohamed Salah limped off in stoppage time of Egypt’s game with Swaziland last week. On top of this, Sadio Mane has reportedly broken a bone in his hand playing for Senegal while Ronald Koeman revealed Virgil van Dijk has been playing with broken ribs over the past few weeks. The Dutch defender scored for his country in their 3-0 win over Germany last week, but an agreement with Liverpool’s medical staff meant he returned to Merseyside ahead of the Nertherlands’ game with Belgium on Monday night.
Liverpool have made an impressive start to the new season and are one of three sides to have reached 20 points from their opening eight games. Their first game after the international break sees them make a trip to west Yorkshire, where they will take on Huddersdfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium.
