Naby Keita injury: How bad is Liverpool midfielder’s knock?

Jurgen Klopp has refused to speculate on the extent of Naby Keita‘s injury sustained in a 1-0 Liverpool loss to Napoli in the Champions League.

The Reds lost with a Lorenzo Insigne tap-in in the last minute of the match, having registered not a single shot on target all game.

Keita, selected by Klopp for his creativity in between defensive lines, was taken off after 19 minutes having clutched his leg and then pointed to his back.

Read more: Napoli vs Liverpool: Player ratings as Reds suffer late defeat to Insigne’s toe poke

The manner of his injury was awkward. Away from play, Keita slowed, then sat down, then lay, clutching his body and clearly upset. He was taken off by stretcher on a cart and the early reporting suggests he injured his back.

Klopp response

Asked after the match on the extent of the injury, Klopp told BT Sport: “We don’t know exactly at this moment, we have to wait.”

Jordan Henderson replaced the injured Keita, who until that point in the match had performed poorly, losing the ball on a number of occasions.

BT Sport pundit Steve McManaman suggested Keita would recover swiftly. The former Liverpool midfielder said: “The good news is he has willingly gone down, so it’s maybe not so bad. It would suggest that it might be OK.”

Liverpool fans took to Twitter to express concern, but to also raise their complaints about the state of the pitch at the Stadio San Paolo, on which the ball had bobbled from time to time. Commentators speculated on the cause and precise nature of the injury too.

Dear Napoli v Liverpool match director, I realise you enjoy a non-sensical arty slow-mo, but any chance of finding footage of when Keita suffered his injury? #NapLiv #LFC

— Arlo White (@arlowhite) October 3, 2018

Keita suffered a back injury. "We will have to wait," said Klopp.

— Chris Bascombe (@_ChrisBascombe) October 3, 2018

Napoli’s pitch is an absolute joke. Disgraceful for a top European side. Not by any means saying that it’s the reason that Keïta has injured himself, but there is for sure a chance that it at least played a part.

— Dharma Bhagalia (@Kloppholic) October 3, 2018

Imma blame Napoli's League Two-tier pitch for everything—the missed passed, Keïta's injury, everything.

— Liverpool Offside (@LFCOffside) October 3, 2018

Keita transferred to Liverpool in the summer from RB Leipzig for £52.75 million and joins Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the ranks of their injured midfielders.