Bayern Munich suffered a big blow this week ahead of the Bundesliga opener against Wolfsburg as Josip Stanišić was ruled out for several weeks due to a knee injury. The Croatian defender suffered this injury during training. Bayern have already announced that Stanišić underwent surgery to repair the damage to the knee.
As per Sky Sports, Stanišić will be out for at least two months. It is a significant blow for the defender as he was set to play a key role under Vincent Kompany. Bayern handed a new deal to Stanisic at the start of the summer after his productive loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen.
Die Roten have endured rotten luck with injuries during the pre-season training. Hiroki Itō broke his foot before the squad flew to South Korea for the pre-season tour in July. The Japanese defender will have to wait for his competitive debut for Bayern as he is expected to be out for a couple of months.
Despite the serious injuries to two senior defenders, Bayern are not planning to sign a defender to fill their void for a couple of months. While talking to Sky Sports on Tuesday, Max Eberl insisted that the squad is well-equipped to cope in the absence of Stanišić and Itō.
"We have a good squad and are well equipped. When there are injuries - as was the case with Hiroki Itō - the first question was whether we'll do something on the transfer market. Planning is one thing, but hopefully the boys will be back soon. Josip had his surgery today and we hope it went well. He will come back and then the squad will be set. That's why we have a big squad - without getting too big - to deal with things like that."Max Eberl
Does Bayern Munich have the depth to cover for Itō and Stanišić?
Eberl has made a valid point about having the depth in defense to cover for Itō and Stanišić in the short term. Stanišić was planned as an option in the full-back positions this season, while Itō will be used as center-back and left-back.
In the right-back position, Sacha Boey is closing on a return to action after training individually for most of the last couple of weeks due to a minor injury. The French defender may start as Die Roten’s first-choice right-back this season. Joshua Kimmich can also play in the right-back position, as he has done on several occasions for club and country. Adam Aznou has been training with the first team during the summer. The youngster is also a candidate for the right-back position.
Meanwhile, Bayern have three center-back options for the Bundesliga opener against Wolfsburg. Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano are expected to start in central defense, while Eric Dier will be on the bench. Alphonso Davies and Raphaël Guerreiro are options in the left-back position, giving Die Roten an ample number of options in the absence of Itō.
Bayern may still strengthen the defense before the end of the window by signing Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen. They have been linked with the German international throughout the summer. However, this move is not part of their contingency after injuries to Itō and Stanišić.