The Guinean Football Federation have confirmed Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita will not be taking part in their upcoming friendlies against Algeria and Ivory Coast.

Despite being sidelined through injury, the 27-year-old was called-up for international duty earlier this month. Keita hasn’t featured for Liverpool since the Community Shield victory over Manchester City and wasn’t named in the Champions League  squad for the first half of the season, indicating he will still be sidelined for some time.

Guinea boss Kaba Diawara said two weeks ago on Keita’s inclusion: “His situation is improving and he is even ahead of schedule. 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.”

However, speaking before the Champions League group stage game against Ajax last week, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp  said he didn’t expect Keita to have any involvement in the matches. He told reporters: “No, I don’t expect him (Keita) to go on international duty.

“The expected return date is somewhere in October, that’s why we had to make the decision. With Ox it is the same and that’s why the two boys are not in the Champions League squad because of their expected return.”

They said in a statement : “The midfielder and captain of the Syli National will not be able to honor his summons on the sidelines of the international break in September 2022 due to his state of physical health. Selected as the 24th player, Naby Keita was followed closely by the technical staff of the national team of Guinea.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com