Bayern Munich suffer injury blow ahead of second leg of Real Madrid tie

Bayern Munich will have to make do without Raphael Guerreiro for the second leg of their Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid.

Raphael Guerreiro picked up an ankle injury during Bayern Munich's Bundesliga clash against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, and was forced to come off in the first-half. The Bavarians have now revealed that scans have confirmed the Portuguese international has picked up a ligament and capsule injury. He will be sidelined for the next few matches.

Guerreiro will thus miss the trip to Madrid, as Bayern Munich look to reach the final of the Champions League for the first time since 2020. The tie is very much in the balance after the two sides played out a 2-2 draw in the first leg.

The injury comes as a big blow for Bayern Munich, as Guerreiro had been in fine form of late and made a big impact in central midfield after coming on in place of Leon Goretzka at half-time in the first leg against Real Madrid.

With the 30 year old sidelined, one of Goretzka and Aleksandar Pavlović will now likely join Konrad Laimer in the heart of the Bayern Munich midfield against Real Madrid. Guerreiro could have also been an option for the left wing role, and Thomas Tuchel will now hope that Serge Gnabry can play there on Wednesday.

Raphael Guerreiro has been forced to deal with a number of injuries since joining Bayern Munich on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer. The versatile player has made a total of 28 appearances this season, and has three goals and two assists to his name.