Robert Lewandowski injury could derail Bayern Munich's season

For the most part, Poland's 3-0 victory over Andorra was a routine day at the office for superhuman goalscoring machine Robert Lewandowski.

With less than an hour on the clock he had already helped himself to a brace. The first was a mishit volley from a free kick, while his second was taken in more clinical fashion. However, a few minutes later he would be forced off in what could prove to be one of the most significant moments in Bayern Munich's season.

Soon after the Andorra game it was reported that the 32-year-old would not feature in Poland's World Cup qualifier against England on Wednesday, depriving football media outlets everywhere of a Lewandowski vs Harry Kane social media graphic.

The prognosis then got worse when on Tuesday it was confirmed that Lewandowski had strained ligaments in his knee, ruling him out for four weeks. This means he will miss Bayern's vital Bundesliga game against second placed RB Leipzig on Saturday, as well as tricky encounters against Union Berlin, Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

Crucially, Lewandowski will also be in the stands for both legs of his side's Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain. A rematch of last year's final, this injury to their star man means the advantage is now with Mauricio Pochettino's side.

The importance of Lewandowski is hard to overstate. Over the past two season he has been a freak of nature in front of goal, scoring with an unsettling degree of regularity. He possesses all types of finishes in his repertoire and even the best defences in the world have not been able to halt this remorseless goal-getter.

The Pole has scored 35 times in 25 Bundesliga games this season, just shy of half of Bayern's total goals. After 25 games Thomas Muller is the only other player in the squad who has got into double figures and Lewandowski has more goals than Muller, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Leon Goretzka, Jamal Musiala and Kingsley Coman combined.

He has also been a near ever-present since Flick took over Die Roten back in November 2019. Since that first game, a 4-0 Der Klassiker win over Borussia Dortmund in which he grabbed a brace, Lewandowski has missed just seven games in all competitions.

Throughout this time, he has been the guy for Flick as well. While the manager's does deserve huge credit for the job he has done since taking over at the Allianz Arena, his tactical tweaks have had little impact on Lewandowski outperforming his xG by a ridiculous 10.1 this season. That is just a world-class finisher doing his thing.

What is particularly worrying about Lewandowski's upcoming absence is that his likely replacement, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, is anything but world class. Ironically signed from PSG in the summer, he has stepped up in each of his teammate's three absences this season, scoring just once.

Flick could opt to move one of his wide forwards centrally or shift Muller to striker, but it seems unlikely. Incredibly then, Choupo-Moting looks set to again fluke his way onto the grandest footballing stage, less than three years after tasting Premier League relegation with Stoke City.

It is hard to think of a bigger downgrade in world football and it could not come at a worse time for Bayern. PSG and their Bundesliga rivals will be licking their lips in anticipation of dealing Europe's top dogs some damage over the next four weeks.