Keita, 22, will join Liverpool next summer but, following an outstanding first season in the Bundesliga last time, has found the going more difficult this time around.

The Guinea international was sent off against Borussia Monchengladbach earlier this season and was close to a red card in the Champions League defeat at Besiktas.

He was then dismissed in Guinea's defeat to Tunisia during the international break, but Hasenhuttl said: "This is nothing that worries me.

"We need to be careful not to stigmatise him. He's obviously now a player who others try to provoke, but he has learned his lesson."

Leipzig, fourth in the Bundesliga, travel to leaders Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, and face Bayern Munich in both the league and the DFB Pokal later this month.

They also face crucial back-to-back matches against Porto in the Champions League, and Hasenhuttl said: "We are going into some exhausting weeks. Maybe they are decisive for the rest of the season."