Liverpool face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday and Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Naby Keita will be unavailable for selection.
The midfielder picked up a hamstring injury during Saturday’s 2-2 draw vs Brighton and the Liverpool manager has revealed that Keita will be out for a while.
The German told the press: “Naby has a hamstring injury so will be out for a while. Apart from that, Millie it’s clear [he won’t be involved] and the others who are out long-term will be out as well.
“Injuries [in this] period of the season are completely normal, as long as they are not too harsh we have to accept that. The players will be back, hopefully soon, and then they are in contention again as well.”
How will Liverpool fare without Naby Keita on Wednesday?
Naby Keita has been amongst the goals in the previous few matches and if he was fit then he would have surely started on Wednesday.
And the fact that James Milner and Harvey Elliot are also out injured, Klopp will have to be really mindful with his midfield selection.
Fabinho and Thiago are back to full fitness and have also training on Monday so one of them should start. But with Milner, Elliot and Naby Keita all out injured, the Liverpool manager will have very few options available from the bench.
Naby Keïta has only lost four Premier League games in his career.
81.4% win rate. 😳 pic.twitter.com/oJuWcMe8TP
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 29, 2021
Both Thiago and Fabinho have just returned from injury lay-offs so neither of them will be able to play the full 90 minutes.
Is Oxlade-Chamberlain an option?
It was Oxlade-Chamberlain who had replaced Naby Keita in the Brighton game and he had also managed to provide an assist in that 2-2 draw.
So given that he has minutes under his belt, the manager could snub Fabinho as well as Thiago and hand the 28-year-old a start.
But this selection choice will obviously be a dual-edged sword since Atletico Madrid are one the best teams in Europe meaning there’s every chance that Oxlade-Chamberlain could turn out to be a major flop on Wednesday.
