The winger sat out Saturday’s win over Koln (Picture: Getty Images)
Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel says Leroy Sane’s potential involvement against Arsenal on Wednesday night in the Champions League is still ‘up in the air’.
The Bavarians enjoyed ideal preparation for their European quarter-final second leg by beating Koln 2-0 in the Bundesliga, though the match was overshadowed by an injury to Kingsley Coman.
Bayern have already lost Serge Gnabry, who limped out of the first leg, and now Coman has sustained a thigh injury that will rule him out for the rest of the season.
Sane, meanwhile, was subbed off at the Emirates despite causing mayhem at times and was rested against Koln, with Tuchel in the dark over whether he will be fit in time to play against Arsenal.
Speaking to Sky Sport Germany, Tuchel said: ‘The big downside to the whole game is the injury to Kingsley Coman. It makes me very sad because I know how hard he worked and how important he is for us.
‘First Serge Gnabry is out, then him [Coman] and then with Leroy it’s up in the air. That’s bitter.’
Tuchel was a little more optimistic in his post-match press conference, saying: ‘We hope Leroy Sane will be available on Wednesday. We didn’t want to take any risks today.
‘Manuel Neuer could have played today but we didn’t want to take risks with him either.
Sane will have to play through the pain against Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
‘At this decisive phase of the season, you want to have a full squad and a competitive spirit, but that has really been hindered by our injury situation.’
Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund was also asked about the availability of Sane and Neuer against Arsenal and said: ‘I’m confident they can be on the pitch.’
Even if Sane joins Coman and Gnabry in missing the showdown with Arsenal, veteran attacker Thomas Muller is convinced Bayern can cope without them – just as they had to do in the past with injury-prone wingers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
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‘It’s not the first time in my time that we have lost important players towards the quarter-final and semi-final stage of the Champions League,’ said Muller.
‘That was also the case with Rib and Rob from time to time.’
Reacting to Coman’s injury, midfielder Joshua Kimmich said: ‘I think he noticed straight away that it wasn’t at all good.
‘Of course, you not only have the game on Wednesday in the back of your mind but also the Euros that are coming up. It’s very, very bitter for us and hurts a lot.’
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