Klopp on Coutinho fitness latest

The Brazil playmaker has missed the Reds’ last three outings against Bordeaux, Swansea City and Southampton due to a hamstring problem picked up during the 4-1 win at Manchester City on November 21.

Klopp had initially confirmed he thought Coutinho would be in contention for the trip to St Mary’s on Wednesday, but he remained on Merseyside as his teammates cantered to an emphatic 6-1 win.

Liverpool will now assess the 23-year-old’s condition before deciding if he will make the trip to St James’ Park.

Klopp told his pre-match press conference: “I like optimism, but with Phil we were too optimistic. Sometimes it happens like this and there’s nothing to criticise about it.

“He tried everything he could, he trained near normally but he doesn’t feel comfortable, so we have to take care of this.

“The muscle is a dangerous thing and always when you feel something or don’t feel comfortable then stop. He has been training, we will wait and I can wait every day – it’s no problem until somebody tells me he is available and then next time he’ll play. Yesterday nobody gave me this sign, so we will have to wait [and see] today.”

Two men who are set to make the journey to Newcastle are Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson, whose returns to fitness have significantly bolstered the ranks in the last week.

Indeed, Sturridge marked his first start since October 4 with two goals at Southampton on Wednesday before being withdrawn from the action on 59 minutes.

“Obviously he did well in the last game and it was the plan beforehand together with the medical department that around 50, 55, 60 minutes would be good for him and good for us, so that’s what we did,” said Klopp.

“Of course, he felt each muscle after the game and that’s normal because it was intensive. At this moment, he is available for the weekend and we’ll have to see how he does this time.”

Henderson, meanwhile, is yet to start a game since returning to action for the first time since August as a second-half substitute in the clashes with Swansea and Southampton – and the Reds will continue to err on the side of caution with his fitness following the lengthy absence, admits Klopp.

“Hendo is a good example to explain why players have to be handled differently,” said the German. “He is a worker and he needs to be absolutely fit.

“For him, it’s better how we’ve done it in the last two games. It’s perfect to have him back as an option and on the bench so we can bring him into the game. It’s very important for us.

“Hendo has made a big step in the last few weeks and that’s the best news. There were some doubts about the heel [injury] and so on, but he feels good, really good. When you see who we will play in December and January – the Southampton win has given us some more problems in January [Capital One Cup semi-final]! – so it’s important we can give him time to come in.”

Klopp elected to make six changes for Liverpool’s last outing and was pleased to be able to utilise the depth of his squad as key players edge their way back to prime condition.

Now the boss must determine who gets the nod in the north east on Sunday.

He said: “For the first time, that was how it should be and I hope it stays like this – to have more [players] than you need!

“I’m sure it wouldn’t have been possible to have played the game on Wednesday with the same squad and team as three days before, so you have to change. We changed six – somebody told me before the game, I didn’t even know we had made six changes, we only made a team for the game.

“Now I don’t know how many changes we will make for the next game, but we have some options. It’s possible too that we will play with the same team because it is the longer part of a short week, Wednesday-Sunday is okay and enough for recovery so we could do the same again.”