"World-class Philippe Coutinho still needs to catch up" - Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac
Bayern Munich head coach Niko Kovac says Philippe Coutinho has shown himself to be "a world-class footballer" in training, but has ruled out a starting berth for the Brazilian against Schalke on Saturday.
Coutinho, 27, has grabbed headlines across the world since joining on a one-year loan from Barcelona, with Bayern fans getting their first glimpse of the new recruit at Säbener Straße during the week.
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However, the 55-time Brazil international and his legions of admirers will have to wait for his first start as a Bayern player.
Talking to press ahead of the trip to Gelsenkirchen, Kovac intimated that the playmaker’s first outing will likely be as a substitute.
"He’s definitely not at the fitness levels that he needs to be at," said the Croatian. "He admitted that himself and that was our impression as well.
"We don’t want to take any risks because he’s only been training for the last two weeks, so he needs to catch up.
"I know a lot of people want us to play him straight away, but everything has to be right."
Despite seeing regular first-time minutes limited at Barcelona last term and making a late start to pre-season, Coutinho - who won the Copa America with Brazil in the summer - is already making all the right noises in Munich and not just because he broke the club's social media records upon his arrival.
"From what I've seen, he's a world-class footballer," Kovac enthused. "He's not about creating a scene or being glamorous. Coutinho wants to be integrated into the team.
"We won’t run him into the ground, though – he is not at his peak fitness yet, we have to get him to that level first."
Watch: Philippe Coutinho's official unveiling as a Bayern Munich player
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Should Coutinho feature against Schalke, he will become the 13th Brazilian to play for Bayern in the Bundesliga after the likes of Rafinha, Dante, Ze Roberto, Giovane Elber and Jorginho.
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