Bayern Munich will be without Manuel Neuer for RB Salzburg tie

Over the years, Bayern Munich has been unfortunate with injuries to key players during the knockout stages of the Champions League. Robert Lewandowski missed Die Roten’s games against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-final last season. His absence eventually made the difference as PSG progressed to the next round on away goals.

This season is going to be no different as Die Roten will be without their skipper for the first knockout round of the Champions League. The Bavarian club confirmed late on Sunday evening that Manuel Neuer underwent surgery to solve the issue in his right knee.

Initial suggestions are that Neuer will return in two weeks. However, Bild is claiming that the experienced shot-stopper is set to be side-lined for somewhere between four to six weeks. The Champions League football will resume next week, so Manuel Neuer is definitely ruled out for the first leg against Red Bull Salzburg.

The second leg against the Austrian side is four weeks away from now as the game at Allianz Arena will take place on March 9. Neuer is likely to be touch and go for the second leg. The Bavarian club will have to give as much time needed for complete recovery, so he will most likely return to action at the end of the second week of March.

In the absence of Manuel Neuer, Sven Ulreich will be getting rare opportunities in the first team. The German goalkeeper has a good amount of Champions League experience, so he can adequately fill in for Neuer against Red Bull Salzburg.

Nagelsmann will be hoping to get a marked defensive improvement from the team to make sure they go deep in the Champions League. The Bavarian Champions need to become a defensively resolute team and concede fewer goals than they have done in the past few months.

Apart from Neuer, Rekordmeister will be without Leon Goretzka and Alphonso Davies for the first knockout round of the Champions League. Goretzka is still recovering from a knee injury that he suffered in November, while Davies is recovering from mild myocarditis. Davies will reportedly be out until April. Meanwhile, Goretzka could return to action in March.

The Bavarian club went nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table after matchday 21. The narrow victory against RB Leipzig on Saturday and Dortmund’s defeat against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday helped Die Roten to stretch their lead at the top.