Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho ready to play 90 minutes, reveals Brazil coach

Brazil head coach Tite is confident Liverpool schemer Philippe Coutinho is fit to play 90 minutes ahead of his side's Premier League showdown with Manchester City on Saturday (9 September).

Coutinho, 25, has missed the start of the 2017-18 with a mystery back injury – although he showed no signs of that knock when he turned out and scored for his country last Friday [1 September] in a comfortable victory over Ecuador.

That period on the sidelines coincided with Barcelona's desperate attempts to bring him to the Nou Camp, with Liverpool rejecting three bids from the Catalan giants despite the player also handing in a transfer request.

With the transfer window now closed, Coutinho will remain a Liverpool player until at least January, with a return to the first-team now looming large.

After coming on as a second-half sub in that 2018 World Cup qualifier against Ecuador last week, his national team coach now believes he is ready to start Tuesday's clash against Colombia at the Estadio Metropolitano

"Coutinho is physically fir to play 90 minutes," Tite said. "I can count on him for part of the game. He is fine physically, but technically it is different. He has not played for a long time."

Coutinho's availability comes at the perfect time for Jurgen Klopp ahead of their visit to the Etihad Stadium. The Liverpool boss will have to make do without first-choice right back Nathaniel Clyne for the foreseeable future however with the England international facing months on the sidelines due to a back problem.

Clyne was left out of the club's Champions League squad for the group phase of the competition with Klopp indicating the former Crystal Palace and Southampton defender would not have been available for the "majority" of those group matches. Adam Lallana is another absentee as he continues is recovery from a thigh injury suffered at the Audi Cup in early August.