Bayern depleted by injuries after Real Madrid loss, implications for Germany's Euro 2024 squad
MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich’s Champions League semifinal loss to Real Madrid has taken a big toll on the fitness of the team with implications for Germany’s European Championship squad.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said Saturday that Serge Gnabry’s participation in the tournament is “super tight” after he was diagnosed Friday with what the club said was a torn muscle bundle at the back of his left thigh.
“And Leroy Sane — I don’t think we’ll see him on the pitch in the last two games,” Tuchel said. “He’s currently back in pain treatment. Jamal Musiala has also signaled to us that he has problems. His knee is very painful. There’s no way he’ll be involved tomorrow and probably not in the last game either.”
Bayern hosts Wolfsburg on Sunday before visiting Hoffenheim for its final game of the season next weekend. It will be Tuchel’s last in charge. He and the club agreed in February not to continue beyond the end of the season.
“I’ll take my time,” Tuchel said Saturday. “There’s been no discussions with other clubs.”
In February, Tuchel had suggested that he no longer needed to take a longterm view to players' fitness, but could opt to play them in big games instead of giving them more time to recover from previous injuries.
That was clearly the case for Wednesday's Champions League semifinal second leg in Madrid, where Tuchel acknowledged that several players were not fully fit and that they would have to bite through pain to play.
Harry Kane will also miss Sunday’s match with a back problem sustained while he was warming up in Madrid.
Kane has 36 goals from his debut Bundesliga season and will need to score five against Hoffenheim next week if he is to tie Robert Lewandowski’s record of 41 from the 2020-21 season.
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