Barcelona give clues as to when Philippe Coutinho will make his debut

Barcelona's new signing Philippe Coutinho is now in the final phase of his recovery. The Brazilian playmaker is still working on his own, but is now back with the ball at his feet and hopes to be available for his new manager, Ernesto Valverde, as soon as possible. 

Coutinho joined Barça from Liverpool earlier this month with a thigh injury. The Catalan club said he would be out for 20 days initially and that looks spot on. At least, that's what can be decuted from the advertising campaign the club are using for the next home match in La Liga, against Alaves. 

The Brazil international is the face of the publicity campaign for the game, which will take place on Jan. 28 at Camp Nou (kick off at 20.45h). "The spectacle has a prize: come and you could win a signed Coutinho shirt," Barca say. 

Given that the game takes place on Jan. 28, that's exactly 20 days from when Barça said he would be out for that same amount of time. 

Coutinho became the club's record signing when he joined from Liverpool this month for an initial fee of 140 million euros, with another 20 million potentiall due in add-ons. 

The former Inter and Espanyol man displaced Ousmane Dembele as the club's record signing -- the France star is also currently out injured with a hamstring problem.