Whilst the news of Unai Emery’s arrival and his immediate impact in defeating Manchester United is a real positive, there’s less promising news from the physio room for Philippe Coutinho.
The former Liverpool and Barcelona star has been ruled out for up to 10 weeks after picking up a quadricep injury in training. This is not an injury that can be rushed, and even the most optimistic of outlooks indicate a recovery time of at least 7 weeks.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhilst Coutinho impressed after joining Villa in an audacious loan move last season, the 30 year old has struggled for form during the 2022/2023 campaign. After making his move permanent, the Brazilian struggled to recreate earlier moments of magic as the Steven Gerrard era came to a premature anti-climax.
As the Premier League now approaches a pause ahead of the World Cup, this in turn means that Coutinho misses out on being a part of the Brazil squad for the tournament. This follows. the news today that midfielder Douglas Luiz, who is arguably in the best club form of his Villa career, will not be on the plane to Qatar.
For Coutinho, this is an opportunity to recuperate and rebound under the new regime. Like so many in the squad, there seemed little thought given to positions, playing style of game-plans under Gerrard. Perhaps under Emery, we can see the Brazilian produce what we know he’s capable of.
Embed from Getty Images