LIVERPOOL, England (AP) - Unsettled Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho is set to travel to Brazil for international duty, even though he has been sidelined for the last three weeks because of a back injury.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said on Friday that Coutinho remains on the club’s injury list but “like the rules are, if they (Brazil) want to see him and check him then he has to go there.”
He was selected in Brazil’s squad on Aug. 10 for World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Colombia. Brazil’s first training session is scheduled for Monday.
Coutinho put in a transfer request two weeks ago after Liverpool rejected a second bid for him from Barcelona. A third bid from Barca, reportedly of 118 million pounds (then $150 million), has since been turned down.
Liverpool said this week that Coutinho was also ill. He will miss the English Premier League game against Arsenal on Sunday.
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