BARCELONA new boy Philippe Coutinho trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Saturday.
The former Liverpool ace has been struggling with a thigh injury since completing his £145m move.
Coutinho, donning a suave Barcelona training kit, was all smiles as his team-mates applauded him at the training ground.
The Spanish giants shared images of the midfielder training to their official Twitter page – which boasts 27.2m followers.
It was captioned: “Welcome! Great to see @Phil_Coutinho training with his new Barce team-mates today.”
A thigh injury has left Coutinho on the sidelines, but Ernesto Valverde has hinted that his debut is edging closer.
Bem-vindo! Great to see @Phil_Coutinho training with his new Barça team-mates today!
#ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/hw6iGHCJKB
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 20, 2018
And he could be called in to face former club Espanyol in next week’s Copa del Rey second leg clash.
The Barca boss said: “I’m reluctant to put an exact date on a start for Coutinho, but the progress of the injury is very positive.
KARREN BRADY Coutinho’s move to Barcelona proves he’s in it for trophies, not money
“He had a small muscular problem in his quadriceps which is a particularly sensitive zone when striking the ball with power, but I hope he’s soon with us.
“Thursday is possible and I hope that he can train with the rest of the squad.”
Most Read in Sport
But the Spanish giants suffered a 1-0 defeat to Espanyol in the first round, which has left them a huge job to do in the second meeting.
Barcelona are currently topping the La Liga standings, and the Spanish league title would be his first trophy since a Coppa Italia triumph with Inter Milan in 2011.
Leave a comment