Bayern loses key duo ahead of Heidenheim clash
Manuel Neuer and Serge Gnabry will be absent when Bayern Munich takes on Heidenheim in the Bundesliga this weekend.
Bundesliga leader Bayern, which lost to Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal in midweek, was already without top scorer Harry Kane.
Now two of his team-mates have joined him on the treatment table.
Neuer, who was sent off against Leverkusen, has an issue with his ribs, while Vincent Kompany did not specify Gnabry's injury.
"Manuel Neuer has discomfort with his ribs. It also looks like Serge Gnabry won't be involved either. Aleksandar Pavlovic is available," Kompany said.
"Pavlo is available. There's no limit on how long he can play. He's not played for a while, but he's available."
Kompany did, though, provide a positive update on Kane.
"Things are looking good. I don't want to give a timeline and put our medical team under pressure. It could well be that he plays again this year. But everything needs to go perfectly," Kompany said of Kane.
Bayern is firmly in control in the Bundesliga and remains unbeaten after 12 games with 30 points, four more than second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.
It will fancy its chances of maintaining that unbeaten streak when it takes on relegation-threatened Heidenheim, which has lost its past four league games.
However, Kompany warned against complacency.
"They're playing in Europe. It's always tough to be competitive in both competitions. What Heidenheim have done over the last 20 years is good," Kompany said.
"They're a very solid club. They won't panic now. We don't differentiate in how we prepare. It'll be another important game for us."
Heidenheim won its pervious Bundesliga game against Bayern 3-2, the first promoted team in the league's history to come from two goals down to beat the Bavarian side.
