Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League Round of 16 return away to Serie A outfit AC Fiorentina, Bayern are rapidly running out of defenders. With Martin Demichelis already sidelined after sustaining three facial fractures while on Argentina duty last week, youngster Diego Contento has been ruled out of the trip to Tuscany with injury.
Contento came away from Saturday’s Bundesliga fixture in Cologne with a deep gash to the right knee, a wound requiring two stitches to repair. The length of the left-back’s lay-off will be determined following a medical on Monday. “We can’t afford any more injuries to defenders, or we’ll have a problem," FCB coach Louis van Gaal declared even before the Köln game.
Robben back in training
But Sunday morning brought good news for Van Gaal too. Arjen Robben, missing in Cologne with a cold, resumed the team training programme and will be available to play at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Tuesday night. The same applies to Franck Ribéry, who was carrying a minor knock and only came on as a sub after an hour’s play in Cologne.
Contento’s third Bundesliga appearance ended after 73 minutes. The 19-year-old was replaced by David Alaba, two years his junior, and now an option for the back four against Fiorentina. The left-footed Danijel Pranjic could also potentially fill the berth on the corresponding side of defence.
Bayern’s 18-man squad for Fiorentina:
Butt, Rensing, Lahm, Van Buyten, Badstuber, Pranjic, Alaba, Görlitz, Altintop, Schweinsteiger, Van Bommel, Tymoshchuk, Müller, Robben, Ribéry, Klose, Gomez, Olic
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