Firmino fit for Champions League final but ‘no chance’ Keita figures for Liverpool

Liverpool have been handed a Champions League final boost after Jurgen Klopp revealed that Roberto Firmino will be ready for action, but Naby Keita has “no chance” of facing Tottenham.

The Reds have been sweating on the fitness of two senior stars heading into a European showpiece on Saturday.

Brazil international forward Firmino has managed just 11 minutes of football – off the bench in the first leg of a semi-final clash with Barcelona – since picking up a muscle injury on April 21.

He has faced a race against time to work his way back into Klopp’s plans.

The 27-year-old is winning that battle, with his manager saying when offering the latest update on a key figure: “Everything is fine, he will be in training from tomorrow [Wednesday] on.

“All that we saw so far looked really good, he will be fine I'm pretty sure.”

While providing a positive progress report on Firmino, Klopp confirmed that Keita will be unable to play any part against Spurs.

He says the Guinean midfielder has “no chance” of recovering from a thigh problem.

It is still possible that Keita could be ready for international duty this summer, with his country having added him to their preliminary squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

His club colleagues are, however, focusing their full attention on a clash with domestic rivals in Madrid.

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Liverpool have reached successive Champions League finals, with Klopp and all of those on the red half of Merseyside seeking to make amends for a 3-1 defeat suffered at the hands of Real Madrid 12 months ago.

“We are all very excited to have the chance again,” the German added.

“We are probably the more experienced, but that doesn't really make a difference, it's about dealing with the situation and so far we controlled our emotions in a really good way.

“I've never been in a final with a better team than this.

“It's a sensational situation. We wanted it, but it looked like it would slip through our fingers in the group stages, where we struggled in away games.

“But we did it in the most mature way, to beat an Italian side [Napoli] 1-0, and since then all our away games were impressive.

“The plan was to come again. Now we are there, it's just incredible. It [Kiev against Madrid] was the kick-start for the development of this team, 100%.

“This team cannot even be compared with the team of last year.”