Bayern Munich have suffered another key injury blow ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second-leg decider against Arsenal.
The German giants saw Kingsley Coman sustain an adductor muscle issue during the early stages of the second half of Saturday’s 2-0 home win over Cologne that delayed dominant Bayer Leverkusen’s first Bundesliga title procession by 24 hours at least.
The French winger is now certain to miss out on Wednesday night, when Bayern host Arsenal in their last-eight return fixture to follow last week’s thrilling and controversial 2-2 draw in north London.
Coman’s absence is a particularly painful blow for outgoing boss Thomas Tuchel, with the 27-year-old making his first start since January on Saturday after recovering from torn knee ligaments.
He now looks set to miss several more weeks of action, with dethroned champions Bayern only having five more matches to play in the Bundesliga this term.
“The injury of Kingsley is extremely bitter with him starting a game today after a very long time,” Tuchel said.
“It looked extremely painful on TV and it certainly won’t be enough for Wednesday.
Big blow: Kingsley Coman was injured on his first Bayern Munich start since January (REUTERS)
“In a quarter-final you want to have the choice options. Maybe you need to play 120 minutes. It’s a big blow for us.”
Bayern said in a statement: “Kingsley Coman will be out of action for FC Bayern for several weeks after the forward suffered an injury in his right adductor muscle in the Bundesliga home game against Koln on Saturday.
“This was confirmed following an examination by FC Bayern’s medical department.
“Coman injured himself after a movement in the Koln penalty area with no intervention from an opponent and had to be substituted in the 50th minute.”
Bayern are already without Serge Gnabry for the visit of Arsenal, with the ex-Gunners forward having been substituted with a hamstring strain after scoring a first-half equaliser against his former club at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Alphonso Davies is also suspended for the second leg after collecting his third yellow card in the Champions League this season, though captain Manuel Neuer and forward Leroy Sane are both expected to be fit after not being risked by Tuchel against Cologne.
Arsenal, by contrast, look to have a clean bill of health for their trip to the Allianz Arena with long-term absentee Jurrien Timber now close to a first-team comeback, though Mikel Arteta’s title contenders host Aston Villa in a potentially tough game on Sunday as they look to earn back their spot at the Premier League summit following Manchester City’s 5-1 drubbing of Luton.
