Sven Ulreich gave Bayern Munich the club’s first serious injury scare of the winter break today at their training camp in Doha, Qatar. The injury took a curious form: the keeper’s right middle finger. Ulreich injured himself in the middle of practice and immediately left the field.
The moment Sven Ulreich stopped training with finger injury [Sky/@Sky_Torben]pic.twitter.com/e0jzzbqpip
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) January 3, 2018
Ulreich was treated on the sidelines and then taken to the hospital for examination. Fortunately, the injury is not serious: only a sprain. Once the swelling goes down, Ulreich is expected to resume training. Ulreich told Bild, “Everything’s fine!”
Thiago still far to go
Bayern’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic confirmed the good news regarding Ulreich, but had a less rosy diagnosis for Thiago Alcantara, who suffered a serious muscular injury shortly after returning from international duty in November.
Bayern had thus far not given any public timeline for Thiago’s return. Now Salihamidzic has informed the press that Thiago will not be available until at least late February. That puts Thiago on roughly the same troublingly vague timeline as Manuel Neuer, whose recovery from his broken foot has repeatedly been prolonged.
Hummels and Lewandowski day to day
Mats Hummels and Robert Lewandowski have missed the opening days of the training camp with lingering minor injuries. Hummels is suffering from an adductor problem, while Lewandowski has been bothered patella irritation since the end of the Hinrunde. They may not be able to participate in the training camp, but the injuries are not serious and Salihamidzic said Bayern’s medical staff are monitoring them “day to day.”