Kingsley Coman’s injury worse than first thought, will miss the rest of 2018

You know, just when we thought the bad news couldn’t possibly get any worse, Sport Bild drops this little bombshell on us. Kingsley Coman will miss the rest of 2018. The Bayern Munich winger’s syndesmotic ligament injury will take longer than the initially speculated 90 days to recover from. This is despite the fact that he sustained a similar injury last season and managed to complete rehab in the stipulated time frame. Clearly, the injury was worse this time around.

This is devastating news in more ways than one. Bayern Munich have had players dropping like flies lately, and Coman’s role is particularly important for this club. Simply put, he is Bayern’s best winger when fit, bar none. Serge Gnabry has yet to settle in, and with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery in decline, the pacey Frenchman is vital for Bavarians’ offense because he is the only one who can blow past defenses. Without him, the club lacks a certain degree of penetration in the final third. Alas, it seems we’ll have to make do without him for now.

As devastating as this news may be, it’s probably not a new story for fans of FC Bayern. Last season, Manuel Neuer’s return kept getting pushed back until he basically missed the entire season, when he was initially projected to be back by the Champions League Round of 16 games. Franck Ribery once had a bone swelling that was supposed to only keep him out for three days, but ended in a 9 month long layoff. We can only hope that Coman’s injury isn’t as severe, but with the club’s track record, it’s very hard to be optimistic about this.