Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Philippe Coutinho has lost his race to recover in time for their New Year’s Eve clash against Manchester City.
Coutinho, 24, hasn’t featured for Liverpool since suffering ankle ligament damage against Sunderland towards the end of November but had been hopeful of returning for the reception of City this weekend.
However, Klopp has now confirmed that the Brazil international will not feature against Pep Guardiola’s side and added that Coutinho may not even recover in time for Liverpool’s reverse fixture with Sunderland on Monday.
“No, but he’s in a good way,” The Guardian quote Klopp as saying when asked if Coutinho is back for Saturday. “The City game for sure is too early, pretty sure the Sunderland game is too early too.”
Coutinho had been in devastatingly good form prior to his injury and Liverpool have managed to cope relatively well in his absence but this news is still a blow to their chances of beating rivals City at the weekend.
Not only did Klopp confirm that Coutinho is ruled out, but Joel Matip has also failed to shake off his persistent ankle trouble and will join his Liverpool teammate on the sideline as Liverpool end 2016 against City.
Coutinho is currently the third highest rated player in the Premier League (7.85 rating) having scored five goals and registered as many assists in 13 league appearances.
For more stats on Philippe Coutinho, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
