Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita faces “consequences” after walking out on his Werder Bremen team-mates after finding out he would not start in Sunday’s Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen.

Keita, 29, was not listed in Werder’s squad for the match and sporting director Clemens Fritz clarified the situation ahead of kick-off.

“After Naby found out yesterday that he would not be playing from the start, he decided not to get on the bus but to go home,” Fritz said. “We will talk to him and his agent tomorrow about the consequences and how to proceed.”

Keita has featured in only five Bundesliga games for Werder in what has been an injury-hit season with the German club. He had been in the last five matchday squads, though, remaining an unused substitute against Eintracht Frankfurt last Friday having made substitute appearances in the previous two matches.

Those had been Keita’s first Werder appearances since October, with the Guinea international having been absent through injury and international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Keita joined Werder on a free transfer following his exit from Liverpool at the end of the 2022-23 season. The midfielder previously played in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig, who sold him to Liverpool for £52.75million (now $65.3m) in 2018.

Keita endured an injury-plagued career with Liverpool and was restricted to only 13 appearances in all competitions in his final season at the club. He left Liverpool having won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

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