The Brazilian has been forced to miss the last three games and while he has been able to train this week, Klopp revealed that Coutinho is still not feeling 100% so won’t be risked this weekend.
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“He’s a very good player and I like working with him, but now be can’t play the next game”.
“He is a worker and he needs to be absolutely fit so for him it’s better how we did it in the last few games. That’s normal. But in this moment he is available for the weekend”, said Klopp.
Newcastle fans will have fond memories of this fixture from last season when an Ayoze Perez goal was enough to sink Liverpool but under Klopp they are a different beast.
The manager may choose to use Christian Benteke instead, or go with Roberto Firmino in the false 9 role, but it would be a big call to drop Sturridge after his midweek performance.
The Merseyside outfit are six points behind joint Premier League leaders Manchester City and Leicester City ahead of their trip to Steve McClaren’s Newcastle.
The Brazil global has not played for two weeks and the Anfield manager added: “I like optimism but with Phil we were too optimistic. We must be prepared”.
“He nearly trained normally but he doesn’t feel comfortable, and we have to take care of this”.
“Sometimes it happens like this, but there’s nothing to criticise”.
“I don’t know many we will change for the next game but we will have some options”. We will wait, I can wait, until he is available.
“There were some doubts about the heel, but he feels good and that’s really good for us when you see who we will play in December and January – beating Southampton has given us some problems in January!”
“If somebody tells me he’s available, then next time, he will play with us”.
But while supporters can expect to see both Sturridge and Henderson in action on Sunday, Klopp believes Coutinho will not be ready for this clash.
“We must give him time to come in”. “Hendo is a good example of how you handle players differently”, said Klopp.
Liverpool’s impressive form with Klopp losing just one of 11 matches since succeeding Brendan Rodgers means that he does not need to gamble with Coutinho’s fitness.
The German global had flourished in midfield under Klopp’s guidance, having arguably his best game in his two seasons at the club.
“We have to be careful with the muscle”.
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Klopp also reported that Jordan Henderson has taken some big steps towards returning to the starting line-up with two cameo appearances.
