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Bayern Munich are wrapping up preparations for Friday’s Bundesliga opener against Eintracht Frankfurt, and have some welcome news: new forward Mathys Tel will be eligible to play, as confirmed by Christian Falk. Meanwhile, the team reported that Manuel Neuer missed training Wednesday with a case of the stomach bug — but it doesn’t sound too serious.
TRUE✅ Mathys Tel (17) has now the permission of the UEFA to play for @FCBayern. Tel will be available against Eintracht Frankfurt @BILD_Sport
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) August 3, 2022
Tel’s eligibility is welcome, if expected news; some frustrating UEFA red tape and scheduling issues delayed his availability for last Saturday’s win over RB Leipzig. The almost-friendly nature of the DFL-Supercup would have been a nice, low-stakes but still competitive environment for the seventeen-year-old to get his feet wet with the first team.
As it happened, head coach Julian Nagelsmann made an effort to help with the youngster’s acclimation by bringing him along anyway, per Sport1’s Kerry Hau (as captured by @iMiaSanMia):
Despite his ineligibility for the game, Nagelsmann decided to take Mathys Tel to Leipzig. The 17-yo even warmed up with the team and lifted the trophy afterwards. The club wants Tel to get used to the procedures quickly in order to be ready as soon as he's eligible [@kerry_hau] pic.twitter.com/V65M1Qoe5V
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) July 31, 2022
And so if Tel is in line for a substitute appearance this week, at least it won’t be in his first run out at a game. Whether he’ll get that chance — in place perhaps of Sadio Mané or Serge Gnabry late — or whether we’ll still be on Tel watch going forward will be one of the game’s intriguing storylines. Fans will be curious to catch that first glimpse of a major new investment in this transfer window.
Vollgas-Vorbereitung auf #SGEFCB: Staffel-Sprints zum Aufwärmen für die #FCBayern-Stars. Alle Spieler bis auf Leon #Goretzka & Eric Maxim #ChoupoMoting dabei. pic.twitter.com/kWBwmhjVZX
— Manuel Bonke (@mano_bonke) August 3, 2022
Full throttle preparation for #SGEFCB : Warm-up relay sprints for the #FCBayern stars. All players except Leon #Goretzka & Eric Maxim #ChoupoMoting .
Meanwhile we’re approaching a near-full bill of health for the Bayern squad as we head into the season. Barring something hitting the fan, Neuer will be up and running again, too — expect to see him between the sticks and logging another start as captain.
Outside of the two injuries and the suspended Kingsley Coman, then, Nagelsmann will have ample opportunity to showcase the different facets of Bayern’s new arsenal. Let’s see if the Bundesliga will be ready.
Can you believe it? The season’s almost here!
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