The Nou Camp was given a glimpse of one of their most expensive signing as Coutinho was brought on for Andres Iniesta in the 68th minute of the Catalan club's Copa del Rey win over Espanyol.
After the game the Brazilian attacker spoke of his "special debut", since making his dream move to Barcelona at the beginning of the transfer window from Premier League club Liverpool.
However, the 25-year-old could make his full debut on Sunday in 'Los Cules' home La Liga fixture against Alaves. It would make more sense to allow him to start with Barcelona having a comfortable lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid and the next home fixture being an important Cup first-leg clash against Valencia.
Head coach Valverde spoke about the possibility of Coutinho featuring in his pre-match conference: "He debuted the other day and when a player is in the squad it is because the coach believes in him. It is possible that he'll start against Alaves, we will see on Sunday".
In addition, the Spanish coach addressed the early comparisons between the Brazil international and Barcelona legend Iniesta, who have a similar style of play: "They are players who, due to their quality, can compliment one another".
In the long-term, Coutinho has been presented as a player who will make history in a Barcelona shirt. But in the short-term, Valverde only wants him to accumulate minutes to adapt to his new team-mates. Sunday seems to be the perfect opportunity for this.