Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel will be without Kingsley Coman next week after he was forced off on Saturday.
The Bavarians won at Stuttgart with their return leg with Arsenal on Wednesday clearly on their mind. The Germans will welcome the Gunners back to the Allianz Arena with the quarter-final nicely poised at 2-2 after an entertaining outing at the Emirates.
Coman will now miss out through injury despite Tuchel taking precautions by making mass changes for the game. The Frenchman was brought on off the bench against Arsenal but had to be helped off after 50 minutes with an injury issue.
The Bayern manager has since admitted that Coman’s campaign looks to be over. He told Sky: “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 he and Leroy Sane are doubts [for Wednesday].”
Jamal Musiala, who was among the big names rested, had to replace him. The German international was one of several big names not to start at Stuttgart with Alphonso Davies, Leon Goretzka and Konrad Laimer all taking their spots on the bench.
The lightning pair of Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane were both ruled out beforehand with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer also sitting out having only just recovered from an adductor issue.
Champions League success is the only realistic trophy hope for Bayern with the Bundesliga all but over. They conquered Europe back in 2020 with Tuchel claiming the European Cup when he was in charge at Chelsea just a year later. Arsenal needed an equaliser from Leandro Trossard to land a draw when they hosted Bayern during the week.
Injury looks to have ended Kingsley Coman’s season
Bayer Leverkusen, who are yet to taste defeat this season, can claim their first-ever Bundesliga title on Sunday but Tuchel has confessed he’ll be tuning in to Arsenal’s game with Aston Villa instead.
He was asked if he would be watching Leverkusen’s game with Werder Bremen, where a win for the home side would confirm them as champions, but replied: “No. I’m going to watch Arsenal.”
