Injury Update: The status of Bayern Munich’s walking wounded — and quarantined

Just a day ahead of Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga clash against Arminia Bielefeld, there is yet another mixed bag of news coming out of Säbener Straße. Don’t worry, this one doesn’t have too much bad news.

We’ll start off with the bad: Marcel Sabitzer’s calf injury turned out to be worse than expected. He will definitely miss Bielefeld, and there are reports suggesting that he could be out for the rest of the Hinrunde. With Joshua Kimmich already sidelined due to COVID-19, it’s grim news for Bayern’s midfield. Julian Nagelsmann will need to get creative, especially with big clashes against Borussia Dortmund and FC Barcelona looming.

Bouna Sarr, meanwhile, has suffered an adductor injury and will be out two to three weeks, effectively putting him out of commission for the remainder of the year. Tanguy Nianzou suffered a shoulder injury against Dynamo Kiev two days ago, and it remains to be seen when he will be able to rejoin training.

Now onto the good news: both Niklas Süle and Josip Stanišić have officially rejoined training and will be in the squad for tomorrow’s game. Due to their quarantine, they obviously won’t be fit to start, but will give the bench a few more options. Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, and Michael Cuisance will be released from quarantine at midnight, and will also be on the bench. This is already a stark contrast from Bayern’s Champions League outing against Kiev, when they had only six bench players, two of whom were goalkeepers.

Lucas Hernández, who was subbed off against Kiev due to injury, has thankfully been deemed fit for Bielefeld, and multiple reports are claiming that he will start alongside Dayot Upamecano, who was suspended for Kiev. Leon Goretzka is also likely to start. According to Nagelsmann, Goretzka didn’t complete the full training, but merely out of precaution for the minor knock he suffered against Kiev.

Of course, Joshua Kimmich and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting remain in quarantine after their positive COVID-19 tests. We wish them a speedy and safe recovery.