Naby Keita Out of Liverpool Derby vs. Everton with Groin Injury

Naby Keita's injury woes at Liverpool are set to continue after manager Jurgen Klopp ruled the brittle midfielder out of Sunday's Merseyside derby against Everton in the FA Cup third round. 

Keita was in the starting XI for Thursday's Premier League game against Sheffield United at Anfield. However, the 24-year-old didn't feature in the 2-0 win after being withdrawn with a suspected groin injury during the warm-up.

Klopp provided some detail after the match, per James Carroll of the club's official website: "I don't know exactly what he has—it was the groin—but I can say already he will not be involved against Everton. That makes it 12 adult players we have [available], plus the kids, so that's not cool, but we cannot change it."

James Milner replaced Keita against the Blades, but there is no doubt losing the latter rates as a setback for Liverpool's cup preparations.

Keita had recently been putting together a run of games for a rare time since joining the Reds in 2018. The Guinea international played the entirety of Liverpool's 3-0 win away to Bournemouth in December.

He followed it with an exceptional 70 minutes when the Premier League leaders beat Leicester City 4-0 on Boxing Day.

Keita had also been showcasing his skills in other competitions, including Liverpool's triumphant FIFA Club World Cup campaign:

There aren't many members of Klopp's midfield ranks who can match Keita's running power, tricky feet, vision and flair. It's why his continued inability to stay fit must be a major source of frustration for the club.

Keita "completed 90 minutes just six times in his maiden campaign," according to Goal's Neil Jones. Meanwhile, the midfielder also missed over a month at the start of this season because of a muscle tear, per Transfermarkt.co.uk.

One more problem adds Keita to the growing list of casualties in the Liverpool engine room. They also include Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Xherdan Shaqiri.

It means Klopp faces having to get creative and juggle his options for what is a tough-looking cup tie. Expect Klopp to look to young, fringe players for help:

Trusting youth will be a risk against an Everton side revitalised since Carlo Ancelotti took over as manager. The Italian has guided the Toffees to two wins from three in the league.

Ancelotti also has a squad deep and talented enough to handle tournament football. He's a master in the cups, having won the FA Cup with Chelsea in 2010 and the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid in 2014, as well as lifting the Champions League trophy three times.

Liverpool's domestic cup success is the only blot on Klopp's record. The Reds lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round last season, but Klopp beat the Toffees at the same stage 12 months earlier.

Doing so again just became a harder task without Keita.