Aston Villa star Philippe Coutinho has been ruled out for up to 10 weeks after sustaining a serious thigh injury and will miss the 2022 World Cup.
The 30-year-old was notably absent from Unai Emery’s debut match in charge of the Lions, a 3-1 victory against Manchester United at Villa Park.
Following the game, Emery told Birmingham Live that Coutinho had incurred a muscle injury and would not play for Villa again until after the World Cup.
“Coutinho is injured. I don’t know how long it will be but, today, he couldn’t play and he’s not going to play until after the break. It’s a muscular injury. He’s not going to play on Thursday or Sunday because he’s injured and he’s out longer,” Emery said.
Emery seemed to confirm that Coutinho wouldn’t be available to Brazil at the World Cup, however the Daily Mail now claims that the former Liverpool and Barcelona player will not be participating.
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According to the report, Coutinho injured his quadriceps while training and it could take him up to 10 weeks to fully recover, leaving him out till 2023.
In the best-case scenario, Coutinho could be back in action in about seven weeks, with a possible return against old club Liverpool on Boxing Day.
Coutinho reunited with Steven Gerrard in the West Midlands after arriving on loan from Barcelona in January, scoring five goals and providing three assists in 19 appearances.
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Since signing a permanent contract in the summer, the South American has gone 13 games in all tournaments without scoring or assisting.
Coutinho has only played six Premier League games for Aston Villa this season, yet he has 21 goals and 11 assists in 69 outings for Brazil, representing his country at the 2018 World Cup despite failing to make the team for the 2014 edition.
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