Anatoliy Tymoshchuk is out of Tuesday’s Lyon clash, after the midfielder informed Louis van Gaal on Monday morning that he had succumbed to gastro-enteritis overnight. “He told me there was no chance of him playing, so he’s stayed at home,” Van Gaal reported on the FCB party’s arrival in the Rhone valley at lunchtime. Tymoshchuk’s seat on the plane remained unoccupied.
The Ukraine captain’s withdrawal added to the defensive concerns already afflicting Bayern, with Martin Demichelis and Daniel van Buyten already doubtful for Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final return. Tymoshchuk had been pencilled in as a makeshift centre-back in the event of both Demichelis and Van Buyten failing to recover. At the present time, youngster Holger Badstuber is the only fully-fit centre-half at the club.
Left-back Diego Contento is also carrying a knock. “I think he’ll be fit to play, but we’ll have to wait and see,” commented Van Gaal. Wait-and-see is also the policy towards Demichelis and Van Buyten. Both players picked up calf injuries in Saturday’s 1-1 draw away to Monchengladbach and have been receiving round-the-clock treatment since then. “We’ve brought them with us, and we’re hoping they’ll be fit,” said Van Gaal. A decision on the pair will be left until shortly before kick-off.
Ribéry and Pranjic suspended
The next setback for Van Gaal arrived in the late afternoon, as Miroslav Klose was unable to take part in the final pre-match training session with flu symptoms. Bayern are definitely without suspended pair Franck Ribéry (red card in the home leg) and Danijel Pranjic (third yellow card). “We have a number of injuries and some problems, but we’re strong-willed too,” declared the Bayern coach.
The actual composition of the back four will make no difference to Munich’s approach, as keeper Hans-Jörg Butt emphasised: “Our target is to keep a clean sheet, as that would put us in the final.” Club captain Mark van Bommel was similarly upbeat despite the injury problems. “The defending isn’t just done by the back four, we defend as a team.” The 32-year-old is also convinced by his side’s attacking potential: “Provided we score five goals, I won’t have a problem with conceding six."
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