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Observers held their breath a few minutes at Bayern Munich’s training sessions today. James Rodriguez had to be treated for several minutes after 17-year-old striker Joshua Zirkzee fouled the Colombian on the right ankle during a practice game. James limped to his feet after treatment and completed the hour-long session before making his way to the locker room. His ability to play against Nürnberg on Sunday does not seem in doubt (Bild).
James complained to Zirkzee about the hard foul and ignored the latter’s initial apology. James finally acknowledged Zirkzee after he extended his hand a second time.
Zirkzee is no stranger to dangerous play. He has missed Bayern II’s last two games (a 1-1 draw vs Rosenheim and a 3-0 win over Memmingen) while serving a suspension for a straight red card. Zirkzee elbowed two players simultaneously in the penalty area in the 68th minute of Bayern II’s 3-2 win over Viktoria Aschaffenburg.
Zirkzee also served a whopping four-game suspension while still with Bayern’s A-Juniors at the beginning of the 2018-2019 season. Zirkzee was sent off in Bayern’s critical U17 final against Borussia Dortmund last season for kicking a player. Bayern lost that game to Dortmund 3-2.