Thigh injury found in Coutinho's Barca medical, but how did he pass test?

Certain football fans remained a bit uncertain as to how Philippe Coutinho managed to pass the Barcelona medical successfully despite a thigh injury was found in the Brazilian star. The attacking midfielder made his much-anticipated move from Liverpool to Barcelona for a fee worth £145m this week.

Coutinho nevertheless will be out of action for at least 20 days before he gets to make his Barca debut. 

That same thigh injury was the reason why the Brazilian had been out of action for the last few Liverpool matches. He last played under Jurgen Klopp against Leicester City on December 30.

Coutinho, who is being hinted as a long-term successor of Andres Iniesta at Barcelona, had two medicals with his new club. The first one took place at 7:30 am local time while the other happened later in the day, reports say.

The thigh injury, which could account for a failed medical, however did not put any threat to his Barcelona career. How is that?

The medical is designed differently for every player and the first and foremost thing that is checked is whether the player is capable enough to perform at their peak.

"There's no standard medical as such – every club has its own way of doing things. Usually a player being transferred to our club will undergo a two-day medical, although when it comes to transfer deadline day, time isn't always a luxury you can afford," mentions Dave Fevre, Head of Sports Medicine at Blackburn Rovers football club.

"But in both cases the role of the team physiotherapist, club doctor and fitness team is to provide as much information to the manager and the club's executives in order for them to make the final call."

From what we believe, Coutinho's injury is not deemed that serious by Barcelona. Will it have any long-term implications? For now, doesn't seem like. 

Here's a lowdown of the tests players have to go through during the medical

Cardio

Bring on the ECGs, echo monitors, the treadmills and the mandatory heart history questionnaire.

Musculoskeletal stability

Players have to go through a lot of squats, lunges and hop tests to determine the strength of their back, quads and hamstrings. This is a very vital exam to determine the long-term durability of an athlete.

Mobility

Knee flexion is an essential part of the regime as well as the extension drills. This is a key element to figure out if the player can expose himself to minor or major ligament tears in the long run.

Bioelectrical Impedance technology

Most players are required to have around 10% body fat. This test scans the body of the individual and measures the lean tissue and fat.

Sprints

Known as the bleep test or the ergometric test, the players have to go through some quick sprints in order to measure their speed over a set distance. For instance, in the Championship, outfield players are expected to clock the 3-second mark for a 20m dash.

Source: FourFourTwo