Eagle-eyed Liverpool fans have spotted that Naby Keita's nameplate has been removed from the dressing room as the midfielder's injury curse continues.
Keita has not played since a short cameo in the Community Shield win over Manchester City. A serious hamstring injury has kept him on the sidelines, with Jurgen Klopp's squad struggling to find their form in the Premier League.
It would appear that he is still some way from returning from that problem though, with the 27-year-old yet to even appear on the bench. Curiously, with Keita ruled out, his nameplate has been removed from the home dressing room at Anfield.
A picture emerged on Friday from a tour that a user on Redditt had taken, with Keita's shirt shown hanging up, but his nameplate missing. The midfielder's place is normally between Andy Robertson and Joel Matip, with that duo having both their shirts and nameplates in place.
Keita only had his shirt on his peg, though it would appear there is an innocent reason for his plate being taken down. Photos from inside the dressing room ahead of the Reds' win over Rangers on Tuesday night show that Calvin Ramsay was using Keita's spot.
Summer signing Ramsay has only recently returned from injury himself and was named on the bench for the Champions League match. Clearly, the Reds have not been able to create a nameplate for the Scot yet, with just his kit hanging up in the space.
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While Liverpool staff had put Keita's shirt back up following the clash with Rangers, they had not yet been able to put his nameplate up. Klopp is hopeful that he will be back in the dressing room soon, revealing last month that an October return date had been set for the midfielder.
"No, I don't expect him to go on international duty. The expected return date was somewhere in October, that's why we had to make the decision. With Ox [Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain] it's the same," he said.
"That's why the two boys are not in the Champions League squad, because after the expected return date, which can always differ a little bit, bit earlier, stuff like this. We had to make the decision now, last week, that's why we made the decision."
Keita had surprisingly been called for international duty by Guinea for the most recent international break. But he was quickly withdrawn from that squad as the extent of his injury became clear to the African team's backroom staff.
"The midfielder and captain of the Syli National will not be able to honour his summons on the sidelines of the international break in September 2022 due to his state of physical health. Selected as the 24th player, Naby Keita was followed closely by the technical staff of the national team of Guinea," a statement read.
"His state of health has been the subject of particular attention and regular exchanges have taken place between the Guinean Football Federation, Liverpool Football Club and the player. As indicated by the national coach on September 7, 2022, Mr Kaba Diawara, a final assessment was made by the technical staff.
"It has been noted that the player's situation is improving. However, according to the medical report sent by the Liverpool Football Club, Naby Keita is considered too far for the two games of Guinea. The technical staff of the Guinea national team has made the final decision to let the player continue his club's treatment protocol in order to allow him to return to competition as soon as possible."
