Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Barcelona
target Philippe Coutinho is unlikely to play against Manchester City
this weekend as they continue to manage the back injury which has kept
him out of club action so far this season.
The Brazilian midfielder, who played twice for his country during the
international break, was the subject of intense interest from the
Catalan giants during the closing weeks of the transfer window.
Barcelona submitted multiple offers reaching as high as £138million, but
the Anfield club stood firm and rejected the bids for a player they
always insisted they had no intention of selling.
Coutinho, who earlier in August handed in a transfer request, has not appeared for Liverpool so far this season due to a niggling back problem but did train with his team-mates on Thursday. It is this back problem that will likely keep him out of Saturday lunchtime's clash with City.
Boss Klopp, speaking to the club's in-house TV channel, revealed he
spoke to the Brazilian following his return from international duty and
was feeling positive following the conversation.
He did, however, admit his fitness needs to be managed carefully.
'Of course - all good, all good,' Klopp said, when asked about his conversation with Coutinho. 'Nothing else to say, actually, so he's back and we had a really good conversation, so good,' he stated.
'It's of course different because Phil, I know what people think, but Phil had the back problem a few weeks ago and couldn't train so that means he missed around about three weeks.
'Yes, he went to the national team and trained normally, but now we have to prepare for a normal season so we have seven games [before the next international break] and we saw training this morning and thought 'OK, maybe we should use him immediately' because he was really good, but that doesn't make sense.
'We have now to continue with the pre-season, not too long, but in a few sessions we have to give ourselves the time because in the next month we have seven games.
'We always have the same decision to make, 'does he need training or can he play?' and all that stuff. Yes, he will now do a little bit more than the other boys but he showed up in a very, very good mood and looks really promising.'
Despite not appearing in a red shirt so far this season, Coutinho was able to twice turn out for Brazil in World Cup qualifiers during the international break.
He played the final 14 minutes and scored the second goal after coming off the bench in his side's 2-0 victory over Ecuador on September 1 and, just four days later, played another 15 minutes as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Colombia.
He then returned to Europe on a private jet with a host of Brazilian team-mates after the two games, sharing the plane with Anfield colleague Roberto Firmino and Manchester City players Ederson, Fernandinho and Gabriel Jesus.
Coutinho, who earlier in August handed in a transfer request, has not appeared for Liverpool so far this season due to a niggling back problem but did train with his team-mates on Thursday. It is this back problem that will likely keep him out of Saturday lunchtime's clash with City.
He did, however, admit his fitness needs to be managed carefully.
'Of course - all good, all good,' Klopp said, when asked about his conversation with Coutinho. 'Nothing else to say, actually, so he's back and we had a really good conversation, so good,' he stated.
'It's of course different because Phil, I know what people think, but Phil had the back problem a few weeks ago and couldn't train so that means he missed around about three weeks.
'Yes, he went to the national team and trained normally, but now we have to prepare for a normal season so we have seven games [before the next international break] and we saw training this morning and thought 'OK, maybe we should use him immediately' because he was really good, but that doesn't make sense.
'We have now to continue with the pre-season, not too long, but in a few sessions we have to give ourselves the time because in the next month we have seven games.
'We always have the same decision to make, 'does he need training or can he play?' and all that stuff. Yes, he will now do a little bit more than the other boys but he showed up in a very, very good mood and looks really promising.'
Despite not appearing in a red shirt so far this season, Coutinho was able to twice turn out for Brazil in World Cup qualifiers during the international break.
He played the final 14 minutes and scored the second goal after coming off the bench in his side's 2-0 victory over Ecuador on September 1 and, just four days later, played another 15 minutes as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Colombia.
He then returned to Europe on a private jet with a host of Brazilian team-mates after the two games, sharing the plane with Anfield colleague Roberto Firmino and Manchester City players Ederson, Fernandinho and Gabriel Jesus.
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