Naby Keita has dismissed claims on social media that he has returned home after being omitted from Werder Bremen’s starting line-up.
The midfielder signed as a free agent last summer after a six-year spell at Premier League giants Liverpool but played just 106 minutes due to injuries.
Keita’s future in the Bundesliga was thrown into doubt ahead of his trip to Bayer Leverkusen after not being named in the squad.
As reported by the club English X accountdirector Clemens Fritz said: “After learning yesterday that he was not part of the starting XI, Naby decided not to come with us to the pitch, but instead chose to return home.
“We will speak with him and his advisor tomorrow about the consequences and where we go from here.”
However, Keita responded with a statement on an Instagram story, asserting his professionalism and lashing out at someone trying to “tarnish” his image.
“I would like to express myself to clarify my situation with my club, Werder Bremen”, can be translated into French. “Since the first day I signed for this magnificent club, I have always demonstrated self-sacrifice and professionalism.
“The only desire that has always driven me has been to help the club and please the many supporters, especially at this time when the results are not what we want.
“Since the start of my career, wherever I have been, I have never had a disciplinary problem and I have always tried to be exemplary. So I will not accept anyone tarnishing this image.
“To the fans, I would like you to know that in every training session, I fight to be able to make you happy every weekend. Training, giving everything, these are the limits of my power. To my teammates, good luck for our match. Go Werder!”
Werder Bremen then lost the match 5-0 as Leverkusen were crowned Bundesliga champions for the first time ever.
It is the 17th time this season that Keita has not been included in his squad for a match in Germany’s top flight, with most of his omissions due to injury.
Keita suffered similar misfortunes during his time at Liverpool and made just 77 starts in all competitions in six seasons at Anfield.
Four of his absences with Werder Bremen are due to call-ups with the Guinea national team for the Africa Cup of Nations.
But he has only played two games since and has only been called into the starting XI in just one of his five appearances all season.
Keita even had to withdraw from his unofficial debut this summer when he was injured during the warm-up of a pre-season friendly.