Arsenal Received A Boost In Their Champions League Aspirations Following An Injury Setback For A Crucial Figure At Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich has suffered a significant setback with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s fitness concerns looming ahead of their Champions League quarter-final clash against Arsenal.
The German champions are set to face their North London rivals once again after several successful encounters in the last-16 stage. Notably, Bayern dominated Arsenal with a commanding 10-2 aggregate victory during the 2016-17 season.
Previous seasons have also witnessed Bayern’s elimination of Arsene Wenger’s side at the same stage in 2012-13 and 2013-14, with each encounter resulting in a 5-1 triumph for the Bavarians.
However, as Arsenal and Bayern prepare to face off again, they do so with differing trajectories. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal currently leads the Premier League standings, while their Bundesliga counterparts are poised to relinquish their grip on a 12th consecutive title to Bayer Leverkusen.
With Thomas Tuchel set to depart from his role as Bayern manager at the end of the season, there are concerns over the fitness of first-choice goalkeeper Neuer, who has withdrawn from the Germany squad due to a significant injury.
The 37-year-old was initially included in the Mannschaft squad for their upcoming friendlies against France and the Netherlands. However, he has been compelled to withdraw from the squad after sustaining a torn adductor muscle during a training session on Wednesday morning.
A statement issued by the DFB stated: “Manuel Neuer has departed early from the camp due to a torn muscle fiber in his left adductor, ruling him out of the two forthcoming international matches. The injury occurred during training earlier in the day.”
Bayern Munich also provided an update on Neuer’s condition but refrained from specifying the duration of his recovery. They stated: “Manuel Neuer sustained a torn muscle fiber in his left adductor during training with the German national team. This diagnosis was confirmed by the medical team of the DFB. The FC Bayern captain will miss the upcoming international fixtures against France and the Netherlands and will return to Munich.”
Currently, the extent of Neuer’s injury remains uncertain. However, he has approximately three weeks to fully recuperate if he intends to defend the goal for the first leg of Bayern’s quarter-final encounter with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on April 9th.
Tuchel’s team will then welcome their Premier League counterparts to the Allianz Arena for the second leg eight days later, where either Sven Ulreich or Daniel Peretz will need to step in as goalkeeper if Neuer is unavailable.
Since recovering from the leg fracture he suffered during a skiing accident midway through the 2022-23 season, Neuer has led Bayern in each of their last 24 matches across all competitions, recording nine clean sheets in the process.
Apart from their primary goalkeeper, Bayern also encountered a worrying setback involving star striker Harry Kane, who injured his ankle colliding with the goalpost in their recent victory over SV Darmstadt 98.
Despite his injury, the England captain joined up with the national team, although he did not participate in full training on Wednesday and remains uncertain for their upcoming matches against Brazil and Belgium.
Winger Kingsley Coman was also unable to join the France squad due to a serious knee injury, while right-back Sacha Boey sustained a hamstring tear in training on Wednesday, ruling him out of the upcoming Arsenal fixtures as well.
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