Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman suffered yet another injury setback, leaving the match against Hertha Berlin after just nine minutes of play.
Bayern Munich rounded off a good week with another gritty performance in the Bundesliga. The defending champions had to work hard to clinch a narrow 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin on Saturday. Javi Martinez backed his impressive performance at Anfield earlier this week by scoring the winner against Hertha in a man of the match display.
However, Die Roten went on to suffer a major setback late in the game. Kingsley Coman came on in the second half, but he lasted only nine minutes on the pitch before having to head back to the sidelines.
The Frenchman hurt his hamstring just after creating a good goalscoring chance. Bayern announced after the match that Coman has suffered a tear in his hamstring but refused to give an exact return date for him.
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Bild, meanwhile, suggest that the young winger could be out for up to three weeks, which means he would not be fit for the game against Liverpool. It will be a massive dent to Niko Kovac’s plans for the game against the Merseyside club if he was absent from the match. The Frenchman was good in the first leg, causing a lot of problems for the right side of Liverpool’s defense.
Coman has been struggling with injuries in the past couple of seasons. He even missed out on a chance to feature for France in the World Cup this past summer due to an injury. The former Juventus forward showed glimpses of his best form in the pre-season games, and he was tipped to have a big season under Kovac. However, things came crashing down for him in the first league game of the season. Coman was sidelined for close to four months after suffering a serious ligament injury against Hoffenheim.
Franck Ribery is likely to fill in for Coman in the upcoming games. The Frenchman looked rusty against Hertha, as it was his first start after a long time. He will have a huge responsibility now to stay fit and deliver in the absence of Coman. Serge Gnabry can also play on the left flank if Kovac decides to deploy Thomas Muller or even James Rodriguez on the right side of the attack.
Kovac will be hoping that Arjen Robben returns before the game against Liverpool. The Dutchman has not played for Bayern since November, as he continues his recovery from a thigh injury. Alphonso Davies also remains an option, but he is unlikely to be thrown into the big games with hardly any first team experience in Munich. Kovac might also come up with a new system to compensate for the absence of Coman. It is a big blow for Bayern, but they still have decent depth to get through these tough games.