Liverpool news: Philippe Coutinho injury prompts criticism of Jurgen Klopp's training methods

Raymond Verheijen, the outspoken coach and former Wales assistant manager, has repeated his critcisms of Klopp's methods

Klopp on the training ground with Roberto Firmino, Coutinho and Divock Origi (Getty)

Jurgen Klopp’s training methods have been criticised once again by Raymond Verheijen after it emerged that Philippe Coutinho is suffering from a new hamstring problem.

The Brazilian playmaker’s injury, which is only believed to be minor, could put him out of contention for Liverpool's trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Coutinho’s problem was described as “not a big issue” by Klopp in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

Verheijen, however, believes the injury is further evidence that Liverpool’s players carry ‘accumulated fatigue’ from Klopp’s intensive training sessions.

The former Wales assistant manager believes this fatigue makes Klopp’s squad prone to injury.

“Liverpool players carry pre-season fatigue into season,” he tweeted. “Accumulated fatigue makes players vulnerable in top games. It's like Russian roulette.”

After describing Coutinho’s problem as ‘very predictable’, Verheijen went on to warn Klopp against playing the 24-year-old at White Hart Lane.

20

Number of hamstring injuries suffered by Liverpool players since Klopp's appointment

“One thing is for sure: If Klopp does risk Coutinho tomorrow against Spurs there is a very big chance that he could be out for 6-8 weeks.”

Verheijen also pointed out, via retweeting another user, that Liverpool have suffered 20 hamstring injuries since Klopp’s appointment last October.

According to the injury aggregator PhysioRoom.com, these 20 injuries have been accrued over a period of just ten months.

By contrast, the club’s previous 20 hamstring problems were spread over a four-year period.

Verheijen made the same claim about Coutinho’s ‘accumulation of fatigue’ during Liverpool’s opening game against Arsenal.

When Coutinho came off the pitch with an apparent injury during the second half, Verheijen again attributed the issue to Klopp’s training methods.

The club, however, later claimed that Coutinho had merely suffered from cramp.

In December last year, Verheijen correctly predicted that Liverpool would run into an injury crisis around the turn of the new year.

Liverpool were without 11 players in total at the peak of their problems in early January, with six of those players suffering from a hamstring injury.