Jurgen Klopp: 'Philippe Coutinho unlikely to return in 2016'

Philippe Coutinho goes down injured during the Premier League game between Liverpool and Sunderland on November 26, 2016
© SilverHub
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says that Philippe Coutinho is unlikely to return to action before the end of the year.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that he will not rush the return of midfielder Philippe Coutinho.

When Coutinho suffered an ankle injury against Sunderland last month, he was regarded as Liverpool's best player this season, but Klopp has played down talk of a possible return in the next week by revealing that the Brazilian is unlikely to feature over the Christmas period.

The 49-year-old told reporters: "He was in a very good way, then a reaction, but he's in a good way again. I don't think it will be a long time.

"Everybody was thinking about the City game for example, this will be very unlikely. It was a dream of Phil. It's not more likely than before, but I don't want to say impossible."

Coutinho has scored a total of six goals in 14 games in all competitions this season.

Philippe Coutinho goes down injured during the Premier League game between Liverpool and Sunderland on November 26, 2016
Read Next:
Klopp coy on Coutinho return
>


Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Chelsea18151238112746
2Liverpool18124245212440
3Manchester CityMan City18123339201939
4Arsenal18114339192037
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs18106233132036
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd189632718933
7Everton187562321226
8Southampton186661820-224
9West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom186572322123
10Watford186482230-822
11West Ham UnitedWest Ham186482332-922
12Bournemouth186392331-821
13Stoke CityStoke185672028-821
14Burnley1862101728-1120
15Middlesbrough184681620-418
16Leicester CityLeicester184592331-817
17Crystal Palace1844102933-416
18Sunderland1842121631-1514
19Swansea CitySwansea1833122141-2012
20Hull City1833121439-2512