Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita could make his return from injury against MK Dons in the League Cup in midweek.

The 24-year-old has missed competitive action since last season, having gone off injured against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first-leg in May.

He showed an excellent display against Manchester City in the Community Shield in August, however, he suffered an injury during an open training session ahead of the Super Cup win against Chelsea last month.

Keita has now recovered from his hip injury and has been in first-team training since Friday, but he is not yet ready to be included in the match-day squad against the Blues this weekend.

Instead, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says the target is for Keita to be included in the squad for the trip to MK Dons in the League Cup on Wednesday.

“He (Keita) is close but the match-day squad is not yet the target,” Klopp said of the Guinean.

“It has only been a few sessions training with the team [that he has been involved].

“We’d only put him in if we didn’t have enough players but I hope we will have enough players for the match-day squad.

“I would say the target is Wednesday and then we will see.”

Keita has endured a stop-start beginning to his Reds career so far, both due to fitness and competition for places between the Reds’ stacked midfield.

He has not yet had a chance to put together a long string of games, with his latest injury being the fourth he has sustained since signing last summer.

His performance against Man City in the Community Shield was a timely reminder of what he is capable of when fit. The hope will be to get him back to fitness and keep him fit enough to allow him to show his abilities.

Keita made 25 league appearances during his debut season last term, with eight of those coming as a substitute.