Guinea boss provides crucial update on injury status of Liverpool star Guinea coach Paul Put has offered an update on Liverpool’s Naby Keita after he left the African Cup of Nations to return for treatment. The 24-year-old missed the Champions League final with an adductor injury he picked up against Barcelona in May and was initially expected to miss the Africa Cup of Nations, but deemed himself fit enough, despite admitting he was “not 100 percent”. The Daily Mirror report that Liverpool “reluctantly agreed” to their No.8’s release for the tournament last month, and suggest the player could now face “a further month or more” out. However, his country are apparently hopeful he will now be available for the knockout stages. Keita flew to England from Cairo on Sunday, but is expected to return to Egypt on Wednesday. “I hope that he will be back and join the team,” Put told the BBC, in quotes reported by the Liverpool Echo. “He wrote to me that he has to do one more examination at Liverpool and then they will make a decision, so I hope this decision will be positive. “But also we have to know if the player is mentally good in the head because if you’re not good and you’re afraid to get injured that makes no player comfortable. “So I will see now the reaction of the Liverpool side and also what is the feeling of Naby himself.” Put though did heap praise on the face Keita has even played in the AFCON, saying: “Everybody was hoping and expecting a lot from Naby and he couldn’t play the [Champions League] final through injury but he had the chance to play in the Africa Cup, he wanted to show. “I had the feeling that Liverpool wanted Naby to play in the Africa Cup and he has colleagues at Liverpool in Salah and Mane, so it all counts. “It was also pressure on him and I had the feeling he really wanted it because he had been working so hard when he came back from Liverpool. He was working so hard and forcing himself very hard. “But the injury is still in the head and if you feel something you are not 100 per cent, so it makes no sense to play, especially these high intensity games, so I think we have to see and wait for the result.” Get the latest personalised Reds products on our new TEAMtalk Liverpool shop! The post Guinea boss provides crucial update on injury status of Liverpool star appeared first on teamtalk.com.

Guinea coach Paul Put has offered an update on Liverpool’s Naby Keita after he left the African Cup of Nations to return for treatment.

The 24-year-old missed the Champions League final with an adductor injury he picked up against Barcelona in May and was initially expected to miss the Africa Cup of Nations, but deemed himself fit enough, despite admitting he was “not 100 percent”.

The Daily Mirror report that Liverpool “reluctantly agreed” to their No.8’s  release for the tournament last month, and suggest the player could now face “a further month or more” out.

However, his country are apparently hopeful he will now be available for the knockout stages. Keita flew to England from Cairo on Sunday, but is expected to return to Egypt on Wednesday.

“I hope that he will be back and join the team,” Put told the BBC, in quotes reported by the Liverpool Echo.

“He wrote to me that he has to do one more examination at Liverpool and then they will make a decision, so I hope this decision will be positive.

“But also we have to know if the player is mentally good in the head because if you’re not good and you’re afraid to get injured that makes no player comfortable.

“So I will see now the reaction of the Liverpool side and also what is the feeling of Naby himself.”

Put though did heap praise on the face Keita has even played in the AFCON, saying: “Everybody was hoping and expecting a lot from Naby and he couldn’t play the [Champions League] final through injury but he had the chance to play in the Africa Cup, he wanted to show.

“I had the feeling that Liverpool wanted Naby to play in the Africa Cup and he has colleagues at Liverpool in Salah and Mane, so it all counts.

“It was also pressure on him and I had the feeling he really wanted it because he had been working so hard when he came back from Liverpool. He was working so hard and forcing himself very hard.

“But the injury is still in the head and if you feel something you are not 100 per cent, so it makes no sense to play, especially these high intensity games, so I think we have to see and wait for the result.”

 

Get the latest personalised Reds products on our new TEAMtalk Liverpool shop!

 

The post Guinea boss provides crucial update on injury status of Liverpool star appeared first on teamtalk.com.

Oli Fisher