Bayern Munich receive big boost before clash against FC Koln
After a tough couple of weeks, Bayern Munich finally had some positive news on the injury front. The German Champions have been without multiple key players in the last three games across all competitions.
Ahead of the home clash against FC Koln, Die Roten will be able to field two key players. Thomas Muller and Serge Gnabry are back in training with the first team. Flick confirmed that both German forwards would be going straight into the squad for Saturday’s game. The German manager also insisted that Tiago Dantas is also fit for the weekend’s game after suffering a minor injury this week.
Gnabry has been on the sidelines due to a minor muscular injury that he suffered two weeks ago against Tigres in the Club World Cup final. The German forward has missed three games due to this injury, but he is in line to make his return against Koln.
Meanwhile, Muller has been on the sidelines for two weeks due to coronavirus. The veteran forward was tested positive for virus just before the Club World Cup final. He had to undergo mandatory quarantine before resuming first-team training this week.
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During the absence of Muller and Gnabry, Bayern twice dropped points in the league. They salvaged a point against Arminia Bielefeld last Monday, while Eintracht Frankfurt inflicted a loss last weekend. There were concerns about the team’s form going into the game against Lazio on Tuesday, but they cruised to a comfortable 4-1 win in Rome.
The return of Muller and Gnabry comes at the right time as Die Roten’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga has been reduced to three points. Muller makes the attack more functional, while Gnabry is a very handy player to have when Rekordmeister is chasing the game.
There are still few absentees for Rekordmeister going into the weekend’s game. Nianzou Kouassi continues to make the recovery from a serious thigh injury he suffered two weeks ago. Flick expects the French defender to be back in action after next month’s international break. Alexander Nubel and Douglas Costa are also in the treatment room due to serious injuries, while Corentin Tolisso is the long-term absentee for the World Champions.
Next. Three things to watch out for Bayern against FC Koln. dark
Flick will be hoping that all injury concerns are gone in the coming weeks. The German team needs the complete squad to defend the Bundesliga and Champions League titles. Flick will have to cleverly manage the squad to avoid injuries due to the accumulation of fatigue.