Laimer & Kimmich hit
©IMAGO
FC Bayern will have to be without defender Dayot Upamecano (25) for some time. “It’s a fiber injury in the back of the thigh,” said coach Thomas Tuchel after the 1-0 win against 1. FC Union Berlin, in which the defender had to be substituted at half-time.
The Bayern coach was unable to say on Thursday night whether Konrad Laimer (26) and Joshua Kimmich (28) were also at risk of failure. Kimmich suffered a shoulder injury and Laimer left the arena limping. However, the fear of a failure is greater for the Austrian than for Kimmich, said Tuchel. “I hope it is as little as possible,” said Laimer, who may have suffered a muscle injury to his calf. More information about the severity of the injuries should be available later on Thursday.
At Upamecano it is “a matter of weeks, not days. This is extremely bitter for Upa and for us. He has been in absolutely top form for many weeks,” said Tuchel. Since Min-jae Kim (27) is missing due to his secondment at the Asian Cup, new signing Eric Dier (30) is coming into focus. The Englishman, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur until the end of the season, came on for Upamecano at half-time against Köpenick and had a solid debut. However, he was not given any major tasks. Next Saturday, Dier could appear in the Munich starting eleven for the first time against FC Augsburg.
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“It was a bit of a jump into the deep end for him because Eric hasn’t played that much football for six months,” said Tuchel. You could feel his presence, his self-confidence and his experience straight away. The transfer window is open until next Thursday and the Munich team is not adjusting the transfer plans after Upamecano’s injury. “We will definitely not panic, injuries are also part of the season. We are not unlucky,” said Tuchel. The strategy “will not be thrown out of the window because of a muscle injury”. There are always problems in the defensive positions of all places: “It’s a bit like magic.”
The Munich team would have a bottleneck at right back if Laimer were to fail, as Noussair Mazraoui (26) is at the Africa Cup of Nations after his own injury. “It’s our turn. It’s clear what we want to do – and what we don’t do,” emphasized Tuchel. In any case, Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier (33) is not moving to FC Bayern. The issue “is settled,” said sports director Christoph Freund on Wednesday evening. Freund did not want to comment on possible interest in Nordi Mukiele (26) from Paris Saint-Germain.
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