Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has asked for patience with midfielder Naby Keita after the Guinean made his return to action during Wednesday’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win over MK Dons.
Keita was sidelined with a muscular problem since early August and his only previous appearance this season for Liverpool came in the FA Community Shield encounter against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Veteran English star James Milner started at left-back and Dutch teenage defender, who played right-back, Ki-Jana Hoever got the goals for Liverpool and even 16-year-old winger Harvey Elliott caught the eye in Liverpool’s win at Stadium MK.
Keita was on the pitch for 63 minutes and looked a bit precautious before Klopp took him off for a rest. But the 24-year-old showed glimpses of brilliance on the ball which has been highly anticipated by the Liverpool fans since his arrival last summer transfer window from Red Bull Leipzig.
Although Keita has struggled with injuries since joining Liverpool, Klopp still believes that the £50 million midfielders will come good in the near future. While speaking to reporters after the game against MK Dons, Klopp stated that fans need to give Keita some time to adapt once again because the injuries disrupt his momentum,
Klopp explained, “Obviously he looked good in moments, he looked really good in moments, but he has to adapt to the position again, you see it with Ox [Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain] as well. Naturally, you move much more and stuff like this, you find each other much more, but that’s how it is. He was out for a while, but in moments you saw what an incredible player he is and how important he will be for us. We don’t have to rush it now hopefully, but we can use him now and that’s good, good for us. There’s a long season to go and everything will be fine.”
