After more than two months, Bundesliga will be back this coming weekend. Bayern Munich will begin their title defense with a tricky away clash against Borussia Monchengladbach. Ahead of Friday’s trip to Borussia Park, Die Roten has received a massive boost on Monday.
Die Roten confirmed on Monday that Alphonso Davies is back in first-team training. The Canadian winger is set to be fit to feature in the matchday squad after missing the entire pre-season due to a serious ankle injury.
Alphonso Davies was set to play in the Gold Cup for Canada, but he was ruled out of the tournament after suffering an ankle ligament injury days before the first game. He returned to Sabner Strasse to complete recovery and faced the prospect of missing the start of the Bundesliga campaign. However, the young full-back started training on the pitch last week, which hinted towards an early return.
It remains to be seen whether Davies will go straight in the starting XI. Die Roten will take a cautious approach since aggravating the ankle injury could sideline Davies for a long time. Julian Nagelsmann will be looking to slowly integrate Davies into the starting XI.
Welcome back to team training, @AlphonsoDavies! 👏👏👏
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) August 9, 2021
#FCBayern #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/rTZBv5ZtDp
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Who will start in the left-back position for Bayern Munich against Gladbach?
At the start of pre-season, it was certain that Omar Richards would start as left-back in the first league game of the season. However, a recent report from Kicker suggests that Nagelsmann is seriously thinking about handing a start to Josip Stanisic.
As per Kicker, Richards’ lapses in positioning while defending has given a selection dilemma to Nagelsmann. It will be a huge moment for Stanisic if he gets the nod for the first Bundesliga game of the season. Meanwhile, Richards will have to take this decision on the chin and polish the rough edges of his game.
Alphonso Davies will undoubtedly remain the first choice left-back/left wing-back at Die Roten this season. He is likely to have more attacking duties if Nagelsmann decides to use three-man defense. Lucas Hernandez will move back in central defense after the departure of David Alaba. Stanisic and Richards will provide competition for this role.
Apart from Davies, Kingsley Coman also returned to first-team training on Monday. The French winger sat out of the last couple of friendlies due to a knock. Coman should be fit to start the game against Gladbach on Friday. Hernandez and Marc Roca are likely to miss the first league game of the season as they will need more time to completely recover from their respective injuries.