The Athletic's Liverpool correspondent James Pearce has provided a concerning update regarding Naby Keita.

The Guinea international wasn't named in Jurgen Klopp's squad for Liverpool's crucial Champions League last 16 tie against Atletico Madrid, in which the European champions trailed after losing the first leg by one goal to nil.

Keita was nowhere to be seen as the Reds suffered another defeat - this time by three goals to two - and ended up crashing out of the Champions League in front of their own supporters at Anfield.

While much of the focus has naturally been on Adrian after his mistake, the former RB Leipzig man's absence is yet to be explained by the club, which makes Pearce's brief update all the more interesting.

What did he say?

When asked by a supporter why Keita wasn't in the squad, Pearce simply said: "Not aware of any injury".

Quite concerning

Liverpool spent a fair amount on the 25-year-old - £52.75m to be exact - so it could even be argued that it'd be concerning if Keita was only on the bench for such a crucial tie.

So, when he wasn't even named in the squad, many may potentially have just presumed that the midfielder was injured - he has suffered his fair share of issues since arriving at Anfield.

However, an extremely reliable source of Liverpool information in Pearce has now stated that he hasn't been informed of any injury for the Guinean, which should really spark concern - if Klopp has simply left the big-money signing out on such a crucial night, he clearly doesn't trust him or something has happened behind the scenes.

Call yourself a Liverpool expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

It remains to be seen what Klopp's motives for leaving the No.8 out were.

In other news, Adrian has posted a heartfelt and emotional tweet following his huge mistake against Atletico Madrid...