Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho is set to return to his native Brazil for further treatment on the knee injury which has kept him sidelined since early January.

It was recently reported that Coutinho underwent a second surgery on his knee injury in February amid concerns that the first operation had not had the desired impact, and it was thought that he was back on track after that surgery.

However, it appears as though that is not the case as Barcelona have confirmed on their official website that Coutinho is jetting off to Brazil for some extra treatment to try and accelerate his recovery.

Marca note that Coutinho has been complaining about pain in his knee which should have subsided at this point in his recovery.

This report states that Coutinho did not actually go under the knife a second time, but he was recently in Qatar working with a specialist to try and get things back on track, and it has been recommended that Coutinho visit another facility in Brazil for more help.

Coutinho was initially expected back in April but has since seen that return date pushed back to late May, and it’s even thought that the 28-year-old will be fortunate to play for Barcelona again this season – or ever.

Club officials are understood to be keen to offload both Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann this summer in an attempt to cut costs, so it’s entirely possible that we have seen the last of Coutinho in a Barcelona shirt.

Alongside Coutinho, teenage winger Ansu Fati is also facing his own tumultuous recovery from a knee injury.

The 18-year-old is facing the prospect of a third surgery to remove the meniscus from his knee entirely, but given the long-term complications that such a procedure can lead to, he is doing everything he can to avoid that.

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