Manager Thomas Tuchel announced that Bayern Munich received a timely boost with the return of forwards Harry Kane and Kingsley Coman for their Bundesliga clash against rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Kane, England’s captain, missed his country’s friendly matches against Brazil and Belgium due to an ankle injury sustained during Bayern’s 5-2 win at Darmstadt. Meanwhile, Frenchman Coman has been sidelined for two months with a ligament tear in his left knee.
However, Bayern captain and first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will be absent from Der Klassiker after picking up a muscle strain in his left adductor while training with the German national team last week.
Reigning champions Bayern, trailing Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen by 10 points, will host fourth-placed Dortmund on Saturday before visiting Heidenheim on April 6.
They are scheduled to travel to Arsenal for the Champions League quarterfinal first leg on April 9.
Bayern Munich vs Dortmund (Via BundesLiga_EN/Twitter)
“King [Coman] is a huge factor for us and will be back in the matchday squad. Serge Gnabry is also back. Both are hugely important for us. Our options up front are getting bigger and the competition for places should hopefully improve quality.”
“Neuer is out. Aleks Pavlovic is unfortunately not available. Raphaël Guerreiro also isn’t back yet. And Sacha Boey got injured during the week. Those four are out.”
Tuchel expressed hope that Neuer would return against Heidenheim.
“It’s nothing to do with risk. The pain is simply too great. We hope a week is enough and he’ll be in goal against Heidenheim,” explained the German coach.
Tuchel, who managed Dortmund from 2015-2017, anticipated a tough contest between Bayern and his former side.
Kingslay Coman (Via BundesLiga_EN/Twitter)
“It’s an emotional game, an important game in the Bundesliga with a big rivalry and history,” he said.
“I’m expecting an opponent that wants to win. Dortmund are very good in attack, very flexible up front. They want to have the ball. It’ll be an open game.
“There’s a good mood and atmosphere. We were very good in attack in recent games. We want to win.”
Dortmund suffered a blow with Dutch forward Donyell Malen out of the clash after picking up a thigh injury during international duty, the club announced. Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel will also miss the trip to Munich due to illness.
Sébastien Haller is fit after recovering from an ankle injury, Dortmund added.
