Bundesliga: Naby Keita picks up injury ahead of debut for new club

Former Liverpool player Naby Keita has suffered an injury and has been forced to withdraw ahead of his unofficial debut for German club, Werder Bremen.

Keita was expected to make his debut for Werder Bremen in a pre-season friendly against VfB Oldenburg on Sunday, July 16. He was replaced by Nick Woltemade shortly before kick-off after picking up a knock in the warm-up.

It’s not clear what the nature of the knock is or how long it could keep Keita sidelined. This is coming after promising to “play every week” for his new club Werder Bremen.

The Guinean footballer had said on Friday, July 14;

“I think having only one game a week will help me. The workload isn’t as high here as in England. Hopefully I can play to my best every week and help us be successful.”

Werder Bremen eventually secured a 3-1 win in today’s match, thanks to goals from Justin Njinmah, Dawid Kownacki, and Jean-Manuel Mbom.

While he was part of Jurgen Klopp’s squad that won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Club World Cup, Super Cup, and Community Shield, Keita’s time on Merseyside will be remembered for the many absences he had with injury.

In his five years at Anfield, 28-year-old Naby Keita missed 95 matches over injury and a change of scenery doesn’t appear to have helped.

Along with James Milner, Roberto Firmino, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Keita’s departure from Liverpool was announced in May upon the expiration of his contract. His free transfer to Werder Bremen was confirmed in June.

Liverpool struck a deal to sign Keita from RB Leipzig in August 2017 in a £48 million deal but the Guinea international spent the 2017/18 season with the German outfit before making his debut for Liverpool in August 2018.

Keita represented Leipzig for two years having joined them from Austrian side RB Salzburg. He has 54 caps for the Guinea national team.