Premier League Rumors: Coutinho Makes Most Of Break, Undergoes Ankle Surgery

Philippe Coutinho underwent ankle surgery recently and the 27-year-old Brazilian will be sidelined for at least 14 days. Considering that football action is on hold, Coutinho's time off may not be felt. He is currently on loan with Bayern Munich by Barcelona.

According to an official release from the Bayern Munich site, Coutinho underwent surgery to remove loose fragments in his right ankle joints. The procedure was a success and the midfielder is now starting his recovery program. Coutinho has made nine goals and eight assists in 32 appearances this season.

"On Friday, Philippe Coutinho underwent an operation on his right ankle, during which loose joint fragments were removed," a club statement said. "The operation was a success. The Brazilian will begin his recovery programme in around 14 days."

Coutinho is not expected to miss any games for Bayern with league officials still deciding on when to resume games. The German Football League (DFL) announced that the top two tiers could be back in action this May, assuming they are given the green light by the nation's politicians, Goal.com reported.

Even if he does return, Coutinho may be in for a rough offseason. Multiple teams are interested in getting the Brazilian midfielder and Barca seems ready to deal him away. That is if teams are willing to meet their asking price. In a previous post, it was mentioned that the asking price was roughly somewhere between £70 to 80 million. Among the teams interested in him are Chelsea and Manchester United. The deal is reportedly to prepare for the possible coming of top targets - Lautario Martinez and former player Neymar.

There are a lot of precedents to consider before Barca's plans are set in motion. That includes the resumption of play, possibly on May 9. However, league officials caution that they have not yet defined an exact date as of this writing.

"The fact that we are even able to think about resuming games underlines the performance of the German authorities. It would be presumptuous for the DFL to name an exact date for the restart," DFL chief executive Christian Seifert said.

And until that current season closes, the fate of Coutinho remains up in the air. For now, he may be hardly thinking of that as he tries to recover well from his recent ankle surgery.