A major injury setback has emerged on Aston Villa forward Philippe Coutinho ahead of the upcoming World Cup 2022 break...
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According to the Daily Mail, the attacking midfielder is set to be out of action for at least seven weeks after suffering a thigh injury in training.
The report claims that he will now miss the World Cup in Qatar for Brazil and that the knock could extend into the start of 2023 as ten weeks on the sidelines is the worst-case scenario.
He watched on from the stands as his side beat Manchester United 3-1 in the Premier League at Villa Park last weekend and he will now be forced into a watching brief for the foreseeable future.
Emery's first setback
The new Villa head coach should be incredibly frustrated by this news as it represents a huge blow to his side in the upcoming two matches before the break and any potential games that Coutinho may miss after the World Cup.
Ten weeks out could cause him to miss seven competitive outings, including the third round of the FA Cup, as it could rule him out until the back end of January.
Coutinho has been in poor form this season for Villa - with zero goals and zero assists in six Premier League starts - but the arrival of Emery offered him a clean slate and a chance to reignite his career in the Midlands.
The Brazilian gem has already more than proven that he has the quality to be a big player for the club at this level. He caught the eye in the 2021/22 campaign as he enjoyed a successful spell on loan from Spanish giants Barcelona.
In the Premier League, the maestro averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.09 as he scored five goals and provided three assists in 16 starts, whilst creating 1.3 chances per game. Only John McGinn (7.29) averaged a higher rating within the squad and this shows that he has the potential to be one of the club's top performers.
He has produced 46 goals and 40 assists in 186 appearances in the English top-flight throughout his career, having previously played for Liverpool, and these statistics prove that there is a quality player there for Emery to unearth.
Therefore, the Spaniard should be gutted as he now won't be able to work properly with the talented 30-year-old gem for the first two months of his tenure at Villa Park.
He could have to wait until the end of January to be able to coach the former Barcelona man and that is a huge blow for the manager, given that Coutinho has the potential to be one of Villa's best players.