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Leon Goretzka missed Bayern Munich’s final two Bundesliga matches of the season due to a torn muscle fiber in his left thigh, which was a cause of concern for his involvement with the German national team at the Euros this summer.
Goretzka sustained the injury in Bayern’s 6-0 thrashing of Borussia Monchengladbach on match day 34, which is the day Bayern clinched their ninth consecutive Bundesliga title by virtue of Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 win over RB Leipzig. He had only played for ten minutes after coming on as a sub for David Alaba before he was replaced by Tanguy Nianzou.
Between the end of Bayern’s season and now, Goretzka has been working with the physios at Sabener Strasse on his recovery after MRI scans had revealed that he tore muscles in his thigh. Goretzka has been making good progress on his recovery and per Abendzeitung’s Maximilian Koch, the midfielder will join up with the German squad in Seefeld, Austria on Tuesday after another MRI scan in Munich showed that everything looked good in his thigh:
Ergebnis MRT-Untersuchung @leongoretzka_ in München: Alles gut am Oberschenkelmuskel! #EURO2020 kann kommen für ihn, ab Dienstag Vorbereitung in Seefeld. #FCBayern #DFB #DFBTeam #Goretzka
— Maximilian Koch (@Koch_AZ) May 31, 2021
MRI result @leongoretzka_ in Munich: Everything is good on the thigh muscle! #EURO2020 can come for him, from Tuesday preparation in Seefeld. #FCBayern #DFB #DFBTeam #Goretzka.
Goretzka has missed the first week of training camp, so it’s unlikely that Low would risk him in Die Mannschaft’s upcoming tune-up friendly against Denmark this week. He won’t want to risk aggravation of the affected thigh and the same could be said for Bayern teammate Jamal Musiala, who’s dealing with a slight hip issue of his own.
Regardless of Goretzka’s involvement in either of the two tune-up friendlies (Denmark, Latvia) prior to the start of the Euros, there’s no question Bayern’s number 18 will be a key piece in Low’s midfield and one of the first names on his team sheets. In retrospect, the timing of Bayern clinching the title when they did was a little bit serendipitous in that there was less pressure to have Goretzka back, giving him ample time to rest, recover, and be ready for when Low released his 26-man roster for the Euros.