Sadio Mane has been ruled out of Liverpool’s League Cup clash against Milton Keynes Dons while Naby Keita could make his long-awaited return in the tie on Wednesday.
The Senegal international suffered a knock in their 2-1 Premier League victory over Chelsea.
Keita, meanwhile, has not featured for the Anfield outfit since August when he suffered a hip injury ahead of their Uefa Super Cup win against Frank Lampard’s men.
Reds assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders has confirmed the Guinea international could feature against the League One side at Stadium MK while Mane will not be available for the clash.
“Sadio has a knock, of course, but he looks good,” Lijnders told the club website.
“With having today off and having treatment tomorrow, I think on Thursday he will be back in training again, so that looks all good.
“Yes [Keita could return on Wednesday]. I will not give the team but he is in a really good way.
“What a boy! He makes our build-up play completely different; he creates unpredictability how the ball moves forward.
“He is an important player, so hopefully we can use him in the next weeks and hopefully tomorrow will be a day where he can shine.”
Mane has scored four goals in six Premier League games for Liverpool while Keita has featured once for the Reds this season.
