Naby Keita of Guinea (L) and Mubarak Wakaso of Ghana (R) during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations football match between Ghana and Guinea at the Malabo Stadium in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on 1 February 2015 ©Barry Aldworth/BackpagePix
by
Graeme Jackson
Tuesday Jun 11, 2019. 12:00
Guinea national team coach Paul Put has revealed that Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is set to play against Egypt on June 16 in an Africa Cup of Nations warm-up match.
Keita suffered an adductor injury during Liverpool’s 3-0 loss against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League in early May, and subsequently missed the club’s remaining matches of the season.
In the days after the injury was sustained, ‘Pool manager Jurgen Klopp said the player would be sidelined for at least two months and therefore also miss Guinea’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
However, the National Elephants named Keita on their provisional list of players for the tournament, and according to Paul Put, he will play against Egypt this coming weekend in a preparation match.
“Keita leaves [Liverpool] after training in the morning and arrives Monday [evening],” the Belgian told Foot224 earlier this week.
“I put a lot of pressure on Liverpool to [send him] as soon as possible. In the end, I said that if Naby does not come now, it will be difficult to put [him on] the list for AFCON.
“He said he will play against Egypt,” the Belgian coach added.
Guinea will compete in Group B at the finals, getting their tournament with a clash against debutants Madagascar on June 22, before clashes with Nigeria on June 26 and another rookie side in Burundi on June 30.
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