Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has confirmed Robbie Keane did not miss the FA Cup tie with Everton through injury.
The Republic of Ireland captain has not yet established himself in the Liverpool team despite being the club's biggest signing last summer. He has been replaced in all but one of the 16 Premier League matches he has started this season.
He started the third round FA Cup tie against Preston earlier this month but he was not even among the substitutes for the fourth round match at Anfield, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Benitez picked teenager David Ngog as one of his substitutes instead, raising speculation about Keane's future with the club.
Benitez said: "Robbie Keane was not selected, we have a very good squad. He was not injured. He is working hard and that is the most important thing for me. I have not seen him but it is normal for every player to want to be in the squad.
"They want to be in the 11 starters so I expect him not to be happy. Ngog was in because he scored two goals for the reserves and we had Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel too. That was four strikers in the squad."
The Republic of Ireland captain has not yet established himself in the Liverpool team despite being the club's biggest signing last summer. He has been replaced in all but one of the 16 Premier League matches he has started this season.
He started the third round FA Cup tie against Preston earlier this month but he was not even among the substitutes for the fourth round match at Anfield, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Benitez picked teenager David Ngog as one of his substitutes instead, raising speculation about Keane's future with the club.
Benitez said: "Robbie Keane was not selected, we have a very good squad. He was not injured. He is working hard and that is the most important thing for me. I have not seen him but it is normal for every player to want to be in the squad.
"They want to be in the 11 starters so I expect him not to be happy. Ngog was in because he scored two goals for the reserves and we had Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel too. That was four strikers in the squad."
No comments:
Post a Comment