Leroy Sane was outstanding in Bayern Munich’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal in midweek (Picture: Getty)
Thomas Tuchel will wrap Leroy Sane up in cotton wool this weekend in an effort to ensure he is fit enough to start against Arsenal in Wednesday’s Champions League showdown.
The former Manchester City winger put in an outstanding display on Tuesday as Bayern left the Emirates Stadium with a credible 2-2 draw that renders them favourites to reach the semi finals.
As has so often been the case throughout his career, however, Sane succumbed to injury in the second half and was replaced in the 66th minute.
Bayern face Koln tomorrow in the knowledge that their reign as German champions is set to end with Bayer Leverkusen on the brink of winning their first ever league title.
With that in mind, Tuchel is likely to rotate his squad heavily, in an effort to keep his key players fresh for the return leg against the current Premier League leaders.
He said: Leroy Sane’s body has had a reaction, which was to be expected. He’s likely out of tomorrow’s game. Manuel Neuer is available. Aleks Pavlović has trained with the team and will get minutes.
‘It’s about how much pain he (Sane) can tolerate. We geared everything towards him being able to play for Arsenal.
Bayern will already be without Serge Gnabry against Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
Alphonso Davies will miss the second leg against Arsenal through suspension (Picture: Getty)
‘He was an important factor there and played a great game. Since he showed a reaction, we’re focusing on him on Wednesday.
‘The plan is for him to return on Sunday or Monday. But if he plays, he’ll show a reaction in his pubic bone again, which will remain the case for the time being, unfortunately.
‘It’s clear what assets and talent the boy has. But we’ve been waiting for him to score a competitive goal since October.
‘He got off to an outstanding start to the season, but he’s slowed down a bit. The expectations before the Arsenal first leg were huge and he delivered.
‘We expect him to keep pushing himself, then he’ll be a key player for us.’
More Trending
Tuchel also has a conundrum to solve at left-back against Arsenal with Alphonso Davies suspended, but he insists he has a number of options to choose from.
He said: ‘We have a few options. We can either switch Raphael Guerreiro as a straight swap, but Noussair Mazraoui has also played there for Morocco.
‘I don’t know if either of them will be able to play 90 minutes against Köln, but we’ll give them both playing time to get them ready for Wednesday. There’s a big chance they start tomorrow because it makes sense with a view to Wednesday.’
Arsenal news, exclusives and analysis
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.