Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany knows that his team has been on very nice winning run, but understands that FC Augsburg will be yet another test in the Bundesliga — without several of his key players.
“Augsburg has always been a difficult game for Bayern recently. It’s a derby. They have developed very well. I know Augsburg coach Jess Thorup from Belgium. Our focus has been fully on Augsburg since Monday,” said Kompany (as ca[turd by @iMiaSanMia). “(João) Palhinha is out. Mathys Tel also took a knock with the national team. It’s always unfortunate when players go to the national team and come back injured. But we remain confident in the squad that we will get the results.
“As I always said I’m not a doctor. For me it’s looking good (for Aleksandar Pavlović). He’s trained with us sometimes, but it’s a shoulder injury, so it’s mainly about duels. We have to give it time. I can’t say exactly when. He’s a young player, the important thing is that he comes back at 100%”
Kompany was asked about a potential for Thomas Müller, but was non-committal, while also bringing up the glut of quality wingers, who need to be featured in the attack.
“We have a few guys who are only coming back to training today. We have to wait and see. Thomas Müller is very important, it’s not just about his role on the pitch. The development of players like Jamal Musiala also has to do with the role of players like Thomas Müller. Thomas’ role is incredibly important for us. There are still a lot of games to come — whether that’s tomorrow or later — he will remain important,” Kompany noted. “We have four world-class wingers. Leroy is one of them. Michael Olise is in top form, Leroy (Sané) is now and so are Serge Gnabry and King Coman. We’re very pleased with our wingers. I’ve known Leroy’s qualities for a long time.”
Finally, Kompany touched on the odd situation surrounding Manuel Neuer, where he had to abruptly leaving training on Wednesday…only to eventually return.
“We hope it’s nothing bad and that he can play tomorrow. But we have to wait and see how things will go in training today,” said Kompany. “We assume that Manu will be able to play tomorrow. But if he didn’t make it, then it will be Daniel Peretz. He did very well in the last two games with the national team, unfortunately against Belgium. Sven Ulreich is unavailable for private reasons, I can’t say more.”
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