Philippe Coutinho will be available for Wednesday’s Champions League encounter against Sevilla after missing Liverpool’s first six matches of the season, manager Jurgen Klopp told reporters.
The Brazilian remained on the sidelines with a back injury while Barcelonaaggressively pursued his signature in the final weeks of the transfer window.
Despite appearing as a substitute for his country in recent World Cup qualifiers, Coutinho also sat out last weekend’s 5-0 debacle at Manchester City.
But Klopp said he’s ready to welcome his star playmaker back into the team following a month of distractions.
“It was a decision made with the season in mind. He came back from a long flight, after two substitute appearances and three weeks without training,” the German gaffer said. “We play on Wednesday, we play on Saturday, we play, play, play, play. I will have the situation all the time now over the next three or four weeks.
“We thought it best to give him three or four days (of) proper training, and then he’ll be available for us, which is very good news.”
Klopp refused to rush Coutinho back into action even though he had returned to full fitness. The 25-year-old suffered the initial injury during pre-season preparation.
What followed was a testing month in which he reportedly handed a transfer request to force a dream move to Barcelona. Some doubted the veracity of Coutinho’s injury and wondered whether it was a ploy to get what he wanted.
Liverpool didn’t budge on its stance that Coutinho was unsellable in the summer transfer window.
Now the process of normalising the relationship between club and player has begun.