The diagnosis is there – FC Bayern will miss Neuer for a long time

Bitter news for FC Bayern. Manuel Neuer will be missing from the German record champions for a long time. As the club announced on Sunday afternoon, the regular goalkeeper has suffered a partial tendon tear in his right foot. According to information from “Bild”, a downtime of around two months can be expected.

The injury occurred during the Bundesliga away game in Mainz on Saturday. Neuer sustained the injury during a failed attempt to clear the ball before the hosts were supposed to equalize in the 40th minute. Lee's goal was subsequently disallowed for offside.

Immediately after the action, Bayern's number one received medical care behind the goal line for several minutes. Team doctor Jochen Hahne and physiotherapist Florian Brandner looked after the goalkeeper. About five minutes later it was clear that Neuer could not continue playing. Of all things, in his record game: At 40 years and 225 days, he became Bayern's oldest Bundesliga player at kick-off. Substitute keeper Jonas Urbig came into the game for him.

After the game, sports director Max Eberl commented on the Bayern captain's injury. He referred to the already known complaints: "It's what was already on the foot before. It's now happened again. We hope it's not that bad."

What was meant was a tendon irritation in his right foot, which had already been bothering Neuer in the past few weeks. Because of these problems, the 40-year-old had already missed four competitive games. However, he was recently back in action in the Champions League against Atlético Madrid.

After that appearance in the Spanish capital, Neuer admitted that he “pains every day when he walks”. Vice-captain Joshua Kimmich was also concerned after the injury-related move to Mainz, saying: "If he goes out, then it's probably something serious." He should be right.

An MRI now provides certainty about the extent of the injury. It is a bitter diagnosis for the injury-plagued FC Bayern.