Bayern Munich receive injury boost ahead of Wolfsburg clash
Bayern Munich received a big injury boost earlier this week, as both David Alaba and Rafinha have returned to first team training.
Bayern Munich have had some terrible luck with injuries throughout the past several years. The theme has continued this season under Niko Kovac. The Croatian has already lost a handful of important players to injuries of varying severity.
Kovac was handed a big injury boost this week, however. Rafinha has re-joined first team training this week, having missed almost a month already after suffering a serious injury against Bayer Leverkusen courtesy of a rash tackle from Karim Bellarabi.
It was initially feared that the veteran full-back would be out for a longer period of time, but he is now set to be back in the Bayern squad for their clash against Wolfsburg next weekend.
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Bayern also received positive news about David Alaba’s minor injury. According to Bild, Alaba has started running on the pitch and is likely to be fit for the next game as well.
The Austrian injured his hamstring in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 defeat against Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend. Niko Kovac feared for the worst in his post-match interview, but Bayern eventualy confirmed that his hamstring injury was not severe and that he would return after the international break.
The full-back position has been a bit of a headache for Kovac this season. Rafinha’s injury has forced him to play Alaba and Joshua Kimmich in every game. The Croatian deployed Leon Goretzka at left-back against Augsburg, but that experiment didn’t exactly go according to plan. Kovac expressed his concern about the lack of full-back options after Alaba’s injury last weekend, but this issue could have easily been avoided.
Bayern sold Juan Bernat on the final day of the summer transfer window. The Spaniard has struggled for gametime in the past couple seasons. Bayern had no plans to extend his stay and decided to put him on the transfer market, as he had only one year left on his contract. The Bavarians made a mistake, though, by not replacing Bernat. They left Kovac with only three full-back options, and when one got injured Kovac was forced to make some tough decisions.
Bayern might look to bring a back-up left-back in January, as they have been linked with both Lukas Klostermann and Ricardo Rodriguez in recent times.
Next. Bayern Munich transfer shortlist includes Bailey, Martial and six others. dark
Kovac has already lost Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso to serious injuries. The French winger is likely to back after the winter break while his compatriot in midfield will be fortunate to play again this season at all. Bayern are going through a rough patch of form as they are winless in their past four games. The return of Alaba and Rafinha will provide a big boost to Kovac’s preparations for Bayern’s next game after the international break.