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Barcelona have announced that Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho has suffered a setback in his recovery from a knee injury and will fly home for further treatment.
Coutinho picked up a knee injury back in December and has failed to register a single minute since then as he remains on the sidelines. After undergoing a knee operation in January, it was revealed the Barcelona star would miss about four months of action.
However, reports now claim the 28-year-old has now suffered an injury setback while in recovery and could be ruled out for the rest of the season. Barcelona have revealed that Philippe Coutinho will head back to Brazil for medical treatment on his knee, but did not state the duration of his injury leave.
A statement on the official Barcelona website wrote: “The first team player Philippe Coutinho to travel to Brazil for medical treatment on his knee injury. The Brazilian was injured on 29 December in a game at Camp Nou against Eibar.”
It is increasingly likely that the former Liverpool superstar might have played his final game for Barcelona.
Philippe Coutinho has been linked with a permanent exit from Barcelona this summer, as he has failed to impress following his loan spell with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Barcelona aiming to finish the season strong despite Philippe Coutinho injury blow
After a shaky start to the season, Barcelona have hit their stride in the business half of the season.
Although they are out of the UEFA Champions League title race, they are still in contention for two pieces of domestic silverware this season. Barcelona have made it to the Copa del Rey final and could claim the title for the first time since their 5-0 win over Sevilla in the 2017/18 edition of the tournament.
Separated by just four points, Ronald Koeman’s men are also hot on the tail of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, who have picked up 66 points from 28 games.
Barcelona are currently unbeaten in the league since the turn of the year, and with just 10 games to go, they will aim to build on this impressive form and push for their first title since the 2018/19 season.
Next up, Barcelona welcome struggling Real Valladolid to the Camp Nou as they look to extend their winning streak to six games and reduce the gap with Atletico Madrid to one point.
