Philippe Coutinho could miss out on making his Bayern Munich debut this weekend after manager Niko Kovac raised concerns about the player's fitness.
The former Liverpool playmaker joined the Bavarians on loan from Barcelona earlier this month, having endured a miserable 18 months at Camp Nou following his club-record £142million move from Anfield in January 2018.
Jurgen Klopp had been heavily linked with making a move to bring the Brazilian back to Merseyside throughout the summer, but the Reds were never interested in such a deal, even on loan, with the Liverpool boss later confirming the club's stance.
"It sounds a bit strange, but we could not afford it, we have already spent the cash that we got for him," Klopp told Goal and Spox.
Follow all the latest Liverpool news and transfer gossip in our daily LIVE blog HERE
It was considered the overall cost of taking Coutinho for a season - upwards of £20m including the loan fee and wages - made no sense for a player no longer be guaranteed a place in the starting line-up, and who Liverpool would have to hand back at the end of the campaign.
And such a decision has been justified further after Kovac cast doubt over the 27-year-old making an immediate impact at the Allianz Arena ahead of Bayern's game with Schalke this weekend after seeing him in action in his first week of training in Germany.
"He still hasn't got the fitness he needs," the Bayern boss said of his new signing. "He said so today and that is our impression too.
Must-read Liverpool FC news
"We will not burn him up even though some people want us too."
Coutinho's lack of fitness comes off the back of helping Brazil win the Copa America this summer, despite finding regular game-time hard to come by at Barcelona.
In contrast, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have all started the new season in fine form and have arguably been Liverpool's best performers despite featuring at the Copa America and Africa Cup of Nations following the Reds' Champions League final win over Tottenham Hotspur.
