Barcelona have suffered a setback after the club confirmed that playmaker Philippe Coutinho has been ruled out for three weeks due to injury.
As per the club’s official announcement, the Brazilian international has sustained a muscle injury in his left leg and after further tests were carried out, it has been confirmed that he’ll be out for three weeks.
The 26-year-old has been a key figure for coach Ernesto Valverde so far this season, scoring five goals and providing four assists in 16 appearances in all competitions.
Coupled with the current absence of Lionel Messi, it’s not what the Barcelona boss wanted to hear ahead of his side’s clash with Real Betis on Sunday afternoon.
Nevertheless, given Messi was seen training with his teammates ahead of their Champions League clash with Inter in midweek, they’ll hope that he can return in time to ensure that they don’t miss a great deal of creative quality in the final third.
As for Coutinho, he’ll seemingly have the international break to recover which means he may not miss as much football as first feared, with Barcelona returning to action on November 24 when they face Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano.
They’ll certainly hope that both Messi and Coutinho are fit for that showdown, but after being held by Inter in midweek in a disappointing result, they’ll be fully focused on bouncing back immediately and leaving on a positive note before the players head off on international duty.
Coutinho though will likely now remain in Europe and receive treatment to help speed up his recovery from injury.
