Philippe Coutinho waves goodbye to the rest of the season

Philippe Coutinho waves goodbye to the rest of the season

Coutinho / | sport

The Brazilian midfielder and club's record signing will not be available to play

It’s virtually impossible for Philippe Coutinho to play again this season. After his visit to Qatar for tests and another previous operation on his meniscus injury was revealed, SPORT have spoken to traumatologist Juanjo Lopez Martinez.

The doctor, an expert in sports injuries, has put two scenarios on the table after Esport3’s news. They said that he was operated on again because there was a synovial fluid leak. “The cyst is produced from the meniscus injury. They operate on the meniscus because that creates liquid and the liquid can accumulate in the form of a cyst,” said the doctor.

Coutinho had been expected to return ahead of the Clasico on April 10. That would be three months after his initial operation. The evolution of the injury has not been easy and it’s a long road back.

In the more optimistic of the two cases, he could be back out on the grass in six to seven weeks. That’s at least two months to get up to speed, the end of May.

On the other, there will be the chance that they looked at it and found another tear in the meniscus and he would be out for longer. “The normal thing would be the former scenario,” said the doctor.

LATEST EPISODE OF THE BEST FC BARCELONA PODCAST IN ENGLISH

Topics with the letter