Bayern Munich suffer injury blow ahead of Champions League opener

Bayern Munich have endured rotten luck with injuries in the last couple of months. They suffered another injury blow on Monday as Sacha Boey was ruled out for several weeks due to a serious knee injury.

Boey has already undergone surgery and started the recuperation process. It is a significant blow for Vincent Kompany since Boey had started two of the three Bundesliga games this season. According to Bild, Boey will need at least two months to completely recover from the injury. Boey is likely to return to first-team training by the end of November.

The 24-year-old has been unfortunate with injuries since joining Bayern from Galatasaray in January. Boey didn’t play much during the second half of last season, as he suffered a serious injury in March.

The French full-back will be the third Bayern defender to suffer a serious injury in the last two months. Hiroki Ito broke his foot before the start of the pre-season tour. The Japanese defender is likely to return in October. Josip Stanisic is also ruled out until November due to a knee injury. After an impressive loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen, the Croatian defender was expected to play a key role under Kompany.

Joshua Kimmich may have to play in right-back

Bayern have both right-back ruled out for at least a couple of months. Kompany may have to utilize Joshua Kimmich in the right-back position in the absence of Boey and Stanišić. The Belgian coach has already deployed Kimmich in the full-back position this season during the game against Freiburg.

Kimmich is a quality right-back, but he prefers playing in the center of the park. Kompany also has the same opinion of him. The German international was exceptional in the midfield against Holstein Kiel on Saturday.

Apart from Kimmich, Konrad Laimer can also play in the right-back position. The Austrian full-back was played in the full-back position under Thomas Tuchel last season. As things stand, Kimmich is ahead of Laimer in the right-back position under Kompany.

The Belgian coach has several options in the midfield, which allows Kimmich to move into the defense. João Palhinha is likely to start regularly in the coming weeks. Laimer, Aleksandar Pavlović, and Leon Goretzka can partner with the Portuguese midfielder in the center of the park. Joshua Kimmich will not be pleased with this situation, but the team’s needs come first, and he will accept it with no fuss.