In an injury blow at the start of the new year FC Bayern will be without Jérôme Boateng for a lengthy period of time. In Friday's first league match of 2016 the centre-back ruptured a muscle in the groin and faces several weeks on the sidelines. That was the diagnosis following an MRI scan in Munich on Saturday.
Boateng sustained the injury in the Bayern box and had to be replaced after 55 minutes of the 2-1 victory over Hamburg. It is a severe setback for FCB: Boateng was the best Bundesliga player in one-on-one challenges with a 72 percent success rate so far.
There was better news regarding Juan Bernat as the left-back resumed the squad programme on Saturday. The 22-year-old has been sidelined since October due to persistent adductor problems. The Spaniard was able to take part in team training in Qatar, but had to reduce his training burden in the last few days.