Soccer-Liverpool's Keita pulls out of Guinea squad with knee injury

(Reuters) - Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has pulled out of the Guinea squad for their international friendlies with South Africa and Zambia due to a knee injury, the Premier League club said.

The 27-year-old started Sunday's 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup quarter-finals before being replaced in the second half by Thiago Alcantara.

"The Guinean Football Federation has reported today (Monday) that Naby Keita is set to miss their forthcoming fixtures due to a knee complaint," Liverpool said in a statement.

Guinea are set to face South Africa on Friday and Zambia four days later.

Liverpool also confirmed defender Trent Alexander-Arnold had pulled out of the England squad for matches against Switzerland and Ivory Coast due to a hamstring issue sustained ahead of the game against Forest.

Manager Juergen Klopp had said on Friday that the problem would keep Alexander-Arnold out for a few weeks.

The club are also sweating on the fitness of forward Mohamed Salah, who is still feeling the effects of a foot injury that he picked up in a league match against Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month.

Liverpool, who are a point and a place behind league leaders Manchester City, return to action after the international break with a home meeting against Watford on April 2.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)