Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry suffers fractured arm
Bayern Munich are set to be without Serge Gnabry for an extended period after the forward suffered a forearm fracture against Preußen Münster on Tuesday night.
Bayern were in action against the 3. Liga outfit in their first-round DFB Cup encounter, a match that was pushed back to the end of September from the beginning of August due to Bayern’s participation in the Supercup. Performance and result-wise, it was a comfortable evening for the reigning Bundesliga champions, who ran out 4-0 winners.
Gnabry started the match and, after just four minutes, looked to get on the end of a searching pass from Leon Goretzka behind the Münster backline. However, the Germany international could not quite get on the end of his teammate’s ball and instead collided with goalkeeper Johannes Schenk, who is currently on loan from the Bavarian outfit.
It was immediately clear the 28-year-old had seriously injured his arm, and he was replaced by youngster Frans Krätzig shortly after. Bayern have since confirmed the fracture and have revealed he will have an operation on Wednesday, leading to him missing several weeks of action in the process.
Watch: Serge Gnabry - seven seasons, seven goals
“It’s a bitter blow for him personally but also for us,” said Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel after full-time. “He is an important player and a super character”.
Such an injury is always inopportune, but it comes ahead of three games in eight days for Der Rekordmeister. On Saturday, they face a tough trip to RB Leipzig before travelling to Copenhagen to face the Danish champions in the UEFA Champions League. Then, Freiburg are visitors to the Allianz Arena, another game that promises to be no cakewalk for Tuchel and Co.
After that, though, comes the international break, which will give Gnabry extra time to recover.
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