Is Philippe Coutinho's injury a problem for Ronald Koeman?
The Brazilian will miss potentially up to four months
Philippe Coutinho is injured again and this time it’s worse. Ronald Koeman could lose the playmaker for up to four months. It’s true that he wasn’t a key figure for Koeman in recent weeks, but he was starting to recover some form, the form he showed as he became a champion of Europe with Bayern.
During the time Coutinho was injured previously, Pedri exploded. The Tenerife-born midfielder looks essential already and it’s hard to imagine the team without him. When Coutinho’s back he’ll have to start from new again.
He missed four games injured but when coming back he was looking low on confidence again, with his head down and things not going right for him. Koeman put him back into the XI against Valencia and he was unable to do anything. He was relegated to sub again against Valladolid and Eibar. Even with Messi out.
With Coutinho not playing, it’s not too much of a problem for Koeman. There was an overbooking in that area anyway, with Messi and Griezmann wanting to play in the No 10 role as well as Pedri.
Ousmane Dembele is also back strong and wants a place in the team. Ronald will start 2021 with plenty of options despite Coutinho’s injury.
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