Naby Keita is back in full training, but Liverpool’s no.8 won’t feature tonight and instead will likely be targeting the Everton game at the weekend for a spot on the bench.
Keita hasn’t featured since the 7-0 hammering of Crystal Palace, and the last time he was on the field for Liverpool, we were top of the Premier League table.
Without him, and a host of his also injured team-mates, we’ve slid to sixth in the table and potentially lower if Everton and Aston Villa win games in hand.
Jurgen Klopp has explained that injuries have defined Keita’s Liverpool career and that the club is now working on a plan to make sure he stops picking up the smaller, niggling issues that have caused fans so much frustration.
“He is no longer injured but he is not fit,” the Red boss told yesterday’s presser.
“He was in training yesterday but he is not ready yet. We will be away for two days and he will be in training. He would have liked to be there against Leipzig.
“He has had some very great spells but he has had too many injuries. He has played some really great games, scored important goals.
“These injuries were minor things but kicked him out of the team but he has an excellent perspective.
“He is a great player. And when these injuries are behind him, we will have a great player.”
We’ve missed Keita’s creativity centrally, and also his ability to press and hassle opponents in the final third.
We think he’ll complement Thiago perfectly, but those two, due to their small stature, will need a Fabinho or a Jordan Henderson alongside them in a Premier League midfield.