BERLIN: Bayern Munich are counting the cost of Wednesday’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Union Berlin, with German media reporting midfielders Konrad Laimer and Joshua Kimmich are set for injury layoffs.
Laimer looks set to miss between six and eight weeks with a calf injury, German tabloid Bild reported on Thursday.
Laimer was replaced in the 87th minute of Wednesday’s win, which took the German champions to within four points of leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
After the game, coach Thomas Tuchel said he was “worried” about the midfielder’s injury.
Laimer told reporters his calf muscle “went crazy and closed up after taking a step.”
Bild also reported that Kimmich will miss Saturday’s trip to Augsburg with a shoulder injury, joining center-back Dayot Upamecano, who injured his hamstring in the victory, on the sidelines.
Tuchel said a diagnosis confirmed the tear, telling reporters the France defender would be missing for “weeks not days” with the injury.
The Bayern manager said he felt “a little bit jinxed” by the club’s injury misfortunes.
With Min-jae Kim away on Asia Cup duty with South Korea, Bayern only have one fit central defender in Matthijs de Ligt.
Eric Dier, who has arrived from Spurs, can play center-back and replaced the injured Upamecano at half-time to make his Bayern debut.
Forward Serge Gnabry is also battling to return from a muscle complaint. The Germany forward last played in early December, coming off the bench and playing five minutes before being subbed out with injury.
While the club has not confirmed Gnabry’s injury, German media reports the former Arsenal player could be missing until March.
‘Jinxed’ Bayern hit by Laimer and Kimmich injury layoffs: reports
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‘Jinxed’ Bayern hit by Laimer and Kimmich injury layoffs: reports
- Laimer looks set to miss between six and eight weeks with a calf injury
- Bild also reported that Kimmich will miss Saturday’s trip to Augsburg with a shoulder injury, joining center-back Dayot Upamecano
PSG star Hakimi faces trial for alleged rape
- The 27-year-old Moroccan international denies any wrongdoing
- “I contest it and everything proves that it is false,” Hakimi wrote on X
PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain footballer Achraf Hakimi, a key player in their Champions League-winning side last season, is to stand trial charged with raping a young woman, his lawyer and a French prosecutor told AFP Tuesday.
In February 2023, a woman then aged 24 told police in Val-De-Marne southeast of Paris that Hakimi had raped her.
The 27-year-old Moroccan international, who played a pivotal role in Morocco becoming the first African and Arab side to reach the World Cup semifinals when they made the last four in 2022, denies any wrongdoing.
“Today, a rape accusation is enough to justify a trial, even though I contest it and everything proves that it is false,” he wrote on X on Tuesday.
“I await this trial calmly, which will allow the truth to come out publicly.”
Hakimi’s lawyer Fanny Colin said a trial had been ordered and the prosecutor in the Nanterre suburb of Paris confirmed it.
“A trial has been ordered on the basis of an accusation that rests solely on the word of a woman who obstructed all investigations, refused all medical examinations and DNA tests, refused to allow her mobile phone to be examined, and refused to give the name of a key witness,” Colin said.
The plaintiff said she met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram and went to his home in a taxi ordered by the player, a police source said at the time.
She claimed that the player kissed her, touched her without her consent and then raped her.
She said she managed to push him away and text a friend, who came to pick her up.
PSG coach Luis Enrique when asked about it at Tuesday’s press conference, ahead of the Champions League play-off second leg match with Monaco, said: “This matter is in the hands of the authorities.”
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said her client was relieved to hear the case was going to court.
She said the judiciary had been exemplary in handling the case.
But its treatment in general showed “there are still areas where the #MeToo movement has not yet breached the sound barrier, chiefly in men’s football,” she added.
Hakimi, born in Spain to a Moroccan mother, trained with Real Madrid making his senior debut for them in 2017.
He was also one of Morocco’s superstars during the Africa Cup of Nations, with the host team making it to the final where they lost in a chaotic climax to the tournament to Senegal.
Hakimi joined PSG in 2021, after stints with Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan.
