Leaving Liverpool hasn’t changed that…another injury on debut

Naby Keita (28-Werder Bremen) has gone down with another injury. The midfielder was substituted after suffering a thigh strain in his starting debut. After being placed on the injured list in the preseason with an adductor problem, Keita spent some time recovering and rehabilitating, only to be sidelined again less than a month after her return.

Keita started the 2023-2024 Bundesliga season’s seventh round home match against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at the Weserstadion in Bremen, Germany, on Aug. 8. However, he suffered a thigh problem in the 14th minute of the second half and was subbed off to finish the game.

It was Keita’s first start for the club. After joining Bremen as a free agent from Liverpool during last summer’s transfer window, he missed the opening four games of the season with an adductor muscle injury in preseason before returning to the starting lineup late last month and coming off the bench for two consecutive games.

Keita did not perform well in his first start in a long time. He completed just 69% of his passes, let alone shot or created chances, and lost all three of his ball battles. He lost possession a whopping 12 times. In the midst of all of this, Keita went down after sprinting in the 14th minute of the second half, grabbing his thigh and complaining of pain, and was eventually subbed off.

According to the official announcement, Keita’s injury is fortunately minor and is not expected to keep him out for long. With the team entering the October A-match break from this week, Keita will focus on treatment and recovery, and is expected to return to action later this month or early next month.

Keita is one of the “glass men” of the soccer world. He had a particularly long injury layoff at Liverpool. In fact, when he arrived at Anfield in 2018, he was highly touted to take over the number 8 shirt from then-‘legend’ Steven Gerrard (43-England), but he spent a whopping 569 days on the sidelines over five years. He missed 122 games during that time. 토토사이트

As a result, Keita only played 129 games in his five seasons at Liverpool. Even then, his average playing time was only 50.6 minutes. He only managed 18 points (11 goals and 7 assists). As a result, he was labeled as a “cheat” and eventually parted ways with the club at the end of June when his contract expired and he moved to Bremen.

Keita aimed to make a comeback in Bremen, but he found himself on the injury list from pre-season. He felt pain in his adductor muscle before kickoff in a friendly and was immediately taken to the hospital with medical staff. When news of his injury broke, fans reacted with the same old “Keita did Keita” sentiment. When he went down this time, the reaction was not much different.