Bayern Munich provides an update on the injuries of Lucas Hernandez, David Alaba and Jerome Boateng ahead of their game against Hoffenheim.
It has been a fantastic last five days for Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions moved to the top of the table on Saturday after a 3-2 win over SC Paderborn. In the midweek Champions League game, they delivered a dominating display against Tottenham Hotspurs in London.
The 7-2 win over Spurs was astonishing, and there were many positive takeaways from this game. However, the win turned a bit sour when David Alaba and Jerome Boateng suffered injuries during the game. The two defenders were substituted in the second half against Spurs.
Die Roten cleared the concerns about their injury by providing a positive update on Thursday. Alaba has suffered a bruise on his ribs, but there is no sign of fracture. The Austrian should be able to play this weekend, but the final call is likely to be taken on Saturday.
Boateng meanwhile had a minor back issue, which led to his substitution on Tuesday. The German defender is fine now as he returned to training on Thursday. Boateng will be fit to play against Hoffenheim in two days.
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Apart from these two defenders, Lucas Hernandez is also currently nursing a knee injury. The Frenchman was substituted against Paderborn at half-time due to this injury. He travelled with Die Roten on Tuesday but didn’t make the matchday squad. Earlier today, Niko Kovac told media that Hernandez will not play against Hoffenheim. The Croatian doesn’t expect Hernandez to feature for France next week despite receiving a call-up from Didier Deschamps.
Kovac will have to reshuffle his back four on Saturday if Alaba doesn’t recover completely. Alphonso Davies could become an option for Die Roten in the left-back position. The 18-year-old played in this position against Paderborn and delivered a promising performance.
Instead of Davies, Kovac can also use Pavard in the left-back role and play Kimmich in the right-back position. The Croatian manager did play with this combination in the second half against Spurs. Hoffenheim is a tricky side, so experimenting against them might turn out to be fatal.
Apart from these three defenders, Bayern also have Leon Goretzka and Jann-Fiete Arp on sidelines. The former is still recovering from a thigh injury that he suffered during the last international break. Arp meanwhile is set to be out for a few weeks as he suffered a fracture in his left wrist last week.