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28th Nov 2016

Philippe Coutinho faces long layoff as extent of injury revealed

Won't see him again before 2017.

Darragh Murphy

We’ve seen the last of Philippe Coutinho in 2016.

The Liverpool midfielder was enjoying a dream start to the season for Jurgen Klopp’s side but saw his momentum halted suddenly when he was stretchered off on Saturday afternoon with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury.

Coutinho remained in a protective boot for the rest of the weekend and went for a scan on Monday to discover the extent of his injury.

https://twitter.com/NumberNineNas/status/802539340601720832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

And the results of the scans confirmed Coutinho’s injury is a cause for concern, with the Daily Mail reporting that the Brazil international will be missing until the new year, with a five to six week recovery time-frame expected for the talismanic playmaker.

Coutinho had five goals and six assists to his name in Liverpool’s 13 Premier League games this season before he came off early against Sunderland at the weekend and he will now miss out on the Reds’ crucial festive fixture list.

The games for which he will be unavailable include Premier League clashes against Bournemouth, West Ham, Middlesbrough, Everton, Stoke, Manchester City and Sunderland.

But on the bright side for Liverpool supporters, it looks like Coutinho will be back in time for the Reds’ trip to Old Trafford in mid-January.

Catch up with this week’s episode of Football Friday Live