Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard is set to miss the second-leg match of Champions League round 16 against Chelsea on August 8 after suffering an injury during training on Sunday.
The 24-year-old played a major part in Bayern’s league title-winning campaign as he started in 31 out of 34 Bundesliga games since he joined from Stuttgart last summer.
As Bundesliga ended their season earlier than other major European leagues, Bayern players have already had a brief break, having played their last game in the DFB Pokal final against Bayer Leverkusen on July 4.
Such a break has its own disadvantages as they will now have to regain their fitness for the resumption of the Champions League season which starts next month.
Unfortunately, Pavard suffered a ligament injury which could prevent him from playing against Chelsea, or even worse the rest of the competition should they advance further (Bundesliga’s official website).
Bayern have a huge advantage over Chelsea ahead of the second leg after grabbing a win and important three away goals in the first leg at Stamford Bridge back in February.
However, Bayern boss Hansi Flick has previously warned his players not to get carried away.
“We have to walk through the quarter-final door now, make sure we win that home game against Chelsea, or at least make it through to the next round,” he told the media on Sunday (via Goal).
“First we have this Chelsea obstacle, they’ve been playing a very impressive style in the last few weeks and it’s going to be important to be concentrated, focused and approach the game that way.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea will have another big match against London rivals Arsenal in the FA Cup final this weekend before their trip to Munich.
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