Real Madrid handed huge Champions League boost as Bayern Munich suffer fresh injuries

Bayern Munich's preparations for the Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid were rocked over the weekend as injuries piled up for manager Thomas Tuchel.

The Bavarians warmed up for their first clash with Madrid with a 2-1 success over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. However, the victory came at a cost as both Konrad Laimer and Matthijs de Ligt were forced into early withdrawals through injury.

Tuchel spoke to reporters after the game, revealing: "Konny Laimer has twisted his ankle and has a capsule injury. Matthijs de Ligt has an inner ligament injury in his knee. We have to see if both of them are fit by Tuesday."

The dethroned German giants were already without a raft of players for the weekend's match. Jamal Musiala was ruled out of contention late in the build-up and now faces a tight race to be fit for Tuesday night.

On the Germany international, Tuchel added: "He can't play. He really wanted to play, we really wanted him to play. He had two days without pain and felt it again yesterday. It's a tendon irritation that is really hindering him. He had to stop training yesterday, now we're giving it our all for Tuesday."

Dayot Upamecano, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry didn't make the matchday squad but there is hope they will recover in time to welcome Los Blancos to the Allianz Arena. However, Kingsley Coman and Sacha Boey aren't expected back until midway through May at the earliest, while Bouna Sarr and Tarek Buchmann's seasons are over.

Thankfully for Tuchel and Bayern, striker Harry Kane remains in indomitable form. The England captain scored his 34th and 35th Bundesliga goals of the season on Saturday and will hope to win a personal battle against compatriot Jude Bellingham, who has been in sensational form at the Bernabeu throughout 2023/24.

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