Jurgen Klopp confirms Naby Keita out of contention for Nottingham Forest clash

Speaking in a press conference (h/t Liverpool Echo) ahead of the Premier League meeting between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, Jurgen Klopp confirmed that the game is too soon for Naby Keita and he would be out of contention for the weekend.

“Tomorrow too soon? Yes! We can’t rush it, a tough injury. Only in parts of training. Ibou will be in full team training [next week]. It’s football pre-season if you like. “

Echo

Keita has not played for Liverpool since the season-opener Community Shield win over Manchester City and fair to say, his energy and tenacity in the midfield have definitely been missed.

This has been the summary of the Guinea captain’s career at Anfield which has been plagued by many injuries throughout the course of his time here. On occasions when it feels like Keita could go on an extended run, he is hit by an injury which subdues his growth.

This is partially the reason he has not been able to cement a place for himself as a Liverpool starter over the years and also suggests why his contract situation has been allowed to run to its last year.

Speaking about the players’ contract situation, which expires next summer, Klopp did not have any affirmative response being pretty coy about the situation.

“What happens in the summer no-one knows at the moment.”

Liverpool have not had the best of starts to the season and that was majorly due to a number of key players missing, especially in midfield with Keita being joined by Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and Curtis Jones on the injury list.

Therefore, in relief to Klopp and his staff, it is predicted that all three would be back to the first team soon with the manager admitting that Ox is ahead of Keita in his return from injury while Jones is also back from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

“Ox is 1-2 weeks ahead of Naby.”

(Regarding Curtis Jones): “Some freak injuries, a finger in the eye! Stress reaction too, with young players these things happen, he’s still growing, but it’s perfect to have him back.”

ECHO

There are four games to go before the mid-season break before the 2022 FIFA World Cup in November starts.

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• Manchester City star Bernardo Silva slams referee Anthony Taylor for Phil Foden’s disallowed goal vs Liverpool

With two impressive performances against Manchester City and West Ham United, we need to be on the lookout to gain another three points against bottom-of-the-league Nottingham Forest and get closer to the top-four rivals.