Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho is hopeful that he will recover in time to play in his team’s crunch clash against Manchester City on December 31.

One of the most impressive performers this season, the Brazilian international has not played for the Reds since suffering an ankle ligament damage in the Reds’ 2-0 victory over Sunderland on November 26. And the playmaker has been badly missed as Jurgen Klopp’s men have failed to win their last two games in the Premier League. The Merseyside outfit suffered their second defeat of the season against Bournemouth on December 4 before drawing against West Ham United that has left the Reds six points adrift of table-toppers Chelsea.

However, Coutinho has handed his team a huge boost by saying that he is hopeful of returning for the clash against Pep Guardiola’s men.

Speaking to Liverpoolfc, the Brazilian said:“This is still my hope – to return for this game.

“The rehab is going really well. I can now walk without crutches and I am working well with the medical team. So I’m pleased with how I am recovering.

The midfielder, who has scored 5 goals this term apart from registering 5 assists, revealed that the injury was looking bad initially but the scans revealed no big damage.

“Straight after the game, when I first saw the pictures and videos of my injury, I was a little scared.
“But after the scans, of course, it was bad, but not as bad as it could have been. I am happy, as it could have been a lot worse.”

Meanwhile, the Merseyside outfit would be looking to get back to winning ways when they travel to Bournemouth on Wednesday.Currently, third in the league, another bad result might dent their title hopes.