Jurgen Klopp gives update about Coutinho ahead of match against Manchester City

What's the story?

After one of the most drawn out and messy sagas of this summer transfer window, the dust has finally settled and Coutinho remains a Liverpool player. The Brazilian has yet to feature in the Premier League because of a "back problem" and although he looked sharp for Brazil after coming off the bench, Klopp said that he would exercise caution with the Liverpool playmaker:

He said: “We saw training [on Thursday] morning and thought, ‘OK, maybe we should use him immediately’, because he was really good, but that doesn’t make sense.

“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.

“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.”

Given these comments by the manager, it looks unlikely that Coutinho will feature from the start against Manchester City.

In case you didn't know...

One of Liverpool's most important players, Coutinho was adamant on a move to Barcelona and even handed in a transfer request. However, the Premier League giants stood firm and did not sell their prized asset.

With Coutinho having missed out on 3 weeks of training at Liverpool, it looks like Klopp will ease him into the first team set-up and not start him from the get-go against Manchester City.

The heart of the matter

Liverpool have made a good start to the season and come into the match against Manchester City after a thrilling 4-0 victory against Arsenal. The Merseyside giants have managed fine without Coutinho in the opening weeks and the midfield trio of Henderson, Wijnaldum and Can will be looking to keep up their good form.

However, Coutinho has historically put up fine performances against Manchester City and he could play a crucial role coming off the bench for The Reds.

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Author's take

Liverpool have fought tooth and nail to keep Coutinho and Klopp will be desperate to get the best out of the Brazilian superstar as soon as possible. However, easing him in seems to be the best option and Coutinho will most likely not start against Manchester City.