BEVERLY HILLS, December 30, (THEWILL) – La Liga outfit Barcelona have confirmed that midfielder Philippe Coutinho, who sustained a lateral meniscus injury on Tuesday, will have to undergo surgery. The medical procedure will potentially leave him sidelined for as long as four months.
The knock came during La Blaugrana’s 1-1 draw with Eibar. When the 28-year-old needed to be helped from the pitch by medical staff as he headed down the tunnel, it was clear that it was a serious blow.
Barcelona provided the update on the Brazilian’s condition on their website;
“The tests carried out on the first team player Philippe Coutinho have shown that the midfielder has an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee. Treatment will necessitate arthroscopic surgery which will take place in the coming days.”
Before the full extent of the damage was obvious, club management had hoped that the damage was minor like a partial tear of the meniscus, which may have allowed Coutinho to avoid surgery altogether and simply nurse his knee back to full health.
Now the certainty of a prolonged spell on the sidelines stares Coutinho in the face with the possibility of a longer period away from competitive football when the rehab time he will require after the procedure is taken in consideration as well.
This places an extra burden on an already beleaguered manager Ronald Koeman dealing with absences due to injury and the setbacks from results that have not been going their way as he continues to attempt figuring out how best to position his team for the success and the quality the side deserves.
Their latest of a long line of setbacks was Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with 15th-placed Eibar in La Liga in the absence of their talisman Lionel Messi who was granted an extended holiday with his family. The result saw them drop to sixth place after results in other fixtures, as they trail table leaders Atletico Madrid by seven points.
The performance of the entire team has not risen to optimum levels and has often fallen below expectations this season. This has been the case for Coutinho too. Generally, his contributions have been meek in his 14 appearances this season which have seen him chalk up just five goals.
His latest injury is a further blow as he was just starting to click with the team after several periods of underwhelming spells since he signed for Barcelona for close to £150m from English Premier League side Liverpool back in 2018.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
