MUNICH.- The captain and goalkeeper of Bayern Munich, Manuel Neuerinjured in a rib, will probably not play again in 2024, his coach, Vincent Kompany, declared on Monday before the match against Shakhtar Donetsk this Tuesday for the Champions League.
“He has a broken rib, which means he probably won’t play this year,” according to Kompany. “The important thing now is that he recovers. I hope that ‘Manu’ will be back from the beginning of January, but at the moment it is too early,” he added.
Neuer, 38, was injured on December 3 in a clash against Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen) in the German Cup, an action that also cost him the first red card of his career after 866 games.
In addition to the Champions League match, he would also miss two Bundesliga matches: a visit to Mainz on December 14 and the reception of RB Leipzig on the 20th.
The second goalkeeper, Sven Ulreich, is out for personal reasons, so Bayern’s third goalkeeper, the Israeli Daniel Peretz, will put on the gloves on Tuesday in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where the Ukrainian team plays its home games in the League of Champions due to the war with Russia.
Bayern occupies 13th position in the Champions League standings after five rounds, with 3 wins at home and two defeats in their visits to FC Barcelona and Aston Villa.
Referee fired after video against Klopp
Premier League referee David Coote was sacked on Monday after the English refereeing body deemed his position “untenable” following a video in which he criticized and insulted former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Coote, 42, was suspended last month after a video circulated on social media in which he called Klopp “arrogant” and used offensive language.
“Following the completion of an in-depth investigation into David Coote’s conduct, his employment with PGMOL (English Association of Professional Referees) has been terminated today (Monday) with immediate effect,” the organization said in a statement.
