(Reuters) - Liverpool are confident Guinea midfielder Naby Keita can shake off a minor adductor strain sustained in the Africa Cup of Nations and join pre-season training this month, the Premier League club said on Saturday.
Keita started his first match in almost two months when he played against Nigeria in their Group B match in Alexandria last month but had to go off after 70 minutes of the 1-0 defeat.
The 24-year-old made a substitute appearance in a 2-2 draw with Madagascar in his first game since the injury sustained playing for Liverpool against Barcelona in the Champions League on May 12.
"Liverpool expect Naby Keita to be fit to begin his pre-season training programme later this month," the European champions said in a statement https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/355417-naby-keita-injury-update on their website.
"He is set to be ready to start pre-season training as planned when back on Merseyside following an end-of-season break later in July."
Liverpool, who finished second in the league behind Manchester City, kick off the new season with a home match against promoted Norwich City on Aug. 9.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)