Football
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent 6y

Injured Philippe Coutinho trains alone on first day at Barcelona

Philippe Coutinho trained alone on his first official day as a Barcelona player after being presented as the club's record signing on Monday.

Coutinho, who could end up costing the club €160 million with add-ons, met all of his new teammates for the first time on Tuesday but was unable to train with them due to a thigh injury he picked up during his final weeks as a Liverpool player.

Barca say the Brazil international will be sidelined for around 20 days, but he should be back in training within two weeks.

Luis Suarez and Paulinho -- two faces Coutinho knows particularly well from Liverpool and Brazil respectively -- and Gerard Pique were among those to greet him on his first full day at the club's Ciudad Deportiva in Sant Joan Despi.

Fitness coaches Jose Antonio Pozanco and Antonio Jose Gomes then worked with Coutinho with the aim of having him ready to make his debut, pending the club's progress in the Copa del Rey, against Alaves at Camp Nou on Jan. 28.

That gives Coutinho time to decide which shirt number he will wear at Camp Nou, with Javier Mascherano's No. 14 and Arda Turan's No. 7 likely to become free in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, defender Samuel Umtiti was able to train for the first time since injuring his hamstring against Celta Vigo on Dec. 2. The France international was ruled out for eight weeks initially but took part in the first half of Tuesday's session.

Barca are preparing for the second leg of their round-of-32 Copa del Rey tie against Celta Vigo on Thursday. After a 1-1 draw in Vigo last week, Ernesto Valverde's side will start the match as favourites to progress to the quarterfinals.

Jordi Alba and Thomas Vermaelen both sat out the session with small knocks. Although neither is expected to be absent for Celta's visit, Valverde may prefer to minimise any risk by making changes.

"B" team players Jose Arnaiz -- who made his league debut against Levante at the weekend -- and Carles Alena were both involved in the session.

^ Back to Top ^