Three days ahead of the Champions League semi-final second leg away to Olympique Lyon, Bayern face the potential loss of centre-halves Martin Demichelis and Daniel van Buyten to injury. Both players took knocks to the calf in the 1-1 Bundesliga draw away to Borussia Mönchengladbach and were substituted during the match.
“Both players getting injured today is a drama,” declared Bayern boss Louis van Gaal after the match at Borussia Park. “I hope at least one of them recovers fitness before Tuesday,” the 58-year-old commented.
Nerlinger optimistic
Van Buyten sustained his injury when he was fouled by Raul Bobadilla after 55 minutes. The Belgian returned to the fray after treatment but only lasted a couple of minutes longer. “I could hardly walk after taking the knock on the calf, and it’s worse now. We’ll have it looked at, but I’m a bit concerned it might not be better in time for Tuesday,” said the centre-back, limping from the dressing room with a look of pain on his face. Anatoliy Tymoshchuk replaced Van Buyten as a makeshift defender.
Demichelis tweaked a calf muscle in the first period and was replaced by Diego Contento at half-time. However, director of sport Christian Nerlinger remained confident about the prospects for Tuesday’s trip to Lyon: “I think both Van Buyten and Demichelis will play.” The only men definitely ruled out of the Stade Gerland clash are Danijel Pranjic (third booking) and Franck Ribéry (sent off in the first leg).
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