Bayern Munich suffer another blow ahead of Gladbach clash

The new year has not been kind for Bayern Munich until now. The defending German Champions are struck by the COVID crisis as multiple players were tested positive for the virus after the end of winter break. The situation in the current squad got worse on Wednesday as more players are set to miss the clash against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Alphonso Davies is the latest player to be tested positive for coronavirus. The Canadian winger will not be available for the game against Gladbach. There is a very good possibility of more players getting infected in the next couple of days since Davies trained with the squad earlier today before the test results were out.

Along with Davies, Niklas Sule is also likely to miss the game against Gladbach. The German defender has not caught the virus, but he didn’t train on Wednesday due to an injury problem. Sule had missed the clash against Wolfsburg before the winter break due to a back injury.

Leon Goretzka remains a doubt for Friday’s game since he is yet to train with his teammates. The German midfielder endured a frustrating December as he missed four games after Der Klassiker due to a recurring injury. Rekordmeister is unlikely to take the unnecessary risk of rushing him back to action.

Meanwhile, Gladbach’s sporting director- Max Eberl, confirmed on Wednesday that Die Roten is looking to postpone the game due to the unavailability of so many players. However, Bayern will have to play the game if they have the required number of players to field a team on Friday.

Julian Nagelsmann will face a very unique challenge on Friday since he will be without most of his key players for this game. Benjamin Pavard is the only senior defender available that can play in central defense on Friday. The German coach will be hoping that Sule recovers in time to play against Gladbach.

The multiple covid cases will give opportunities for young players from the reserves to get some playing time with the senior squad. Malik Tillman could also end up getting a start on Friday since Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane have also tested positive for coronavirus.

Nagelsmann will be able to give a much more concrete update on which players will be available for the game against Gladbach during tomorrow’s pre-match press conference. Joshua Kimmich will be back in the squad, as he continued to train with his teammates on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see how Nagelsmann navigates through this tricky run of games.