MUNICH: Bayern Munich on Saturday confirmed midfielder Jamal Musiala was set for a stint on the sidelines after tearing his hamstring, as the injury-hit side’s troubles deepen.
Musiala, 22, was helped from the pitch in the second half of Bayern’s 3-1 win at Augsburg on Friday, having motioned to the bench while grabbing at the back of his left thigh.
Bayern on Saturday issued a statement saying the club would “be without Jamal Musiala for the time being” following an “examination from the club’s medical department.”
The German giants did not provide a time-frame for Musiala’s recovery, but domestic media reported he was set to miss six to eight weeks given the serious nature of the tear.
The upcoming period is crucial for Bayern in the Champions League and the Bundesliga.
Bayern host Inter Milan in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday, before the return match in Italy the following Wednesday.
The Bavarians also have six more Bundesliga fixtures to play, but hold a nine point advantage over second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who have a game in hand.
To add further fuel to their fire, the Champions League final will take place on May 31 in Bayern’s own Allianz Arena.
After the European season ends, Bayern will take part in the expanded Club World Cup in the United States in July.
But the Bavarians are currently in the midst of an injury crisis, with several first team players sidelined for long periods.
Defenders Alphonso Davies, Dayot Upamecano and Hiroki Ito look set to miss the remainder of the season with various injuries.
Goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer, winger Kingsley Coman and midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic are also out with injury and have unclear timelines for a return.
Bayern striker Harry Kane left the arena in Augsburg on Friday with a heavily iced ankle, but the England captain said the injury was “just a minor one — I’m not worried.”
Musiala’s injury also puts him in doubt for Germany’s Nations League fixtures in June.
Germany will face Portugal in the Nations League semifinals in Munich on June 4, with a potential final at the same venue four days later.
Musiala has emerged as a key component of Julian Nagelsmann’s resurgent Germany.
Musiala hamstring tear compounds Bayern’s injury crisis
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Musiala hamstring tear compounds Bayern’s injury crisis
- The German giants did not provide a time-frame for Musiala’s recovery
- Domestic media reported he was set to miss six to eight weeks given the serious nature of the tear
Rublev marches on, Bublik and Draper fall at Dubai Tennis Championships
- No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev, the 2022 champion, dispatches Ugo Humbert in epic three setter 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3
- Tallon Griekspoor upsets No. 2 seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets to set-up quarterfinal clash with No. 6 seed Jakub Mensik
DUBAI: Andrey Rublev signaled his determination to reclaim the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title on Wednesday, as the ruthless Russian dispatched fellow former champion Ugo Humbert in a titanic, three-set tussle on center court.
As a two-time finalist in Dubai and the winner there in 2022, Rublev already has fond memories of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium. Meanwhile Humbert, who has also tasted success in Dubai having edged Alexander Bublik to the title in 2024, was looking to tame a second former winner in the space of 24 hours after eliminating reigning champion Stefanos Tsitsipas on Tuesday.
In the early stages of the match a smattering of vocal young fans stirred up an endless cacophony of noise from all four grandstands as the near-capacity crowd repeatedly serenaded both players with cries of “Let’s go, Andrey” and “Allez, Ugo,” the even split among the supporters mirroring the evenly matched contest.
The nail-biter of a match went with serve for the first six games before, as is so often the case in professional tennis, the seventh proved to be a critical turning point. Rublev took advantage of two break points afforded by a pair of uncharacteristic double-faults by Humbert to achieve what Tsitsipas had failed to do in the entirety of their Round of 32 clash: he broke the Frenchman.
The set then resettled into a familiar pattern as the pair once again held serve amid minimal threats. And so, after 41 minutes of the back-and-forth, Rublev claimed the opening set 6-4 courtesy of that sole break of serve.
The second set mirrored the first, this time with both players avoiding a break of serve, until Humbert, the current world No. 37, narrowly edged the tiebreak 7-5 to even the match.
With very little separating the battling duo at this point, their seesaw duel was akin to two prize fighters exchanging punches with neither able to land a decisive blow. Buoyed no doubt by the feverish support from their respective fans, both players refused to buckle.
But then, with the third set tied at 1-1, Rublev held serve, broke and held again to win three straight games and move 4-1 ahead. The match then, predictably, once again went with serve until it was 5-3.
Then Humbert, facing the prospect of elimination, suddenly found himself with two break points as his opponent wobbled while serving for the match. The steely Russian held his nerve, however, and dispatched a trio of massive serves, including two aces, to reverse the deficit and set up his first match-point.
That was all the 28-year-old needed, as another huge serve forced a Humbert error and sealed the match 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
“It was a very dramatic ending,” Rublev said. “I’m really happy I was able to keep going and save the last game.
“It’s difficult to close a match; you can make a double-fault or a mistake, but I made three good serves and that helped me a lot. It’s much easier to win points from the serve than playing rallies every time.”
He commended his opponent, saying: “Ugo played really well. I took my two break chances but he served unbelievably all match. He shoots super hard and very fast, so it’s not easy to do something. I had to be ready for the one chance to break him in a set, and I got those chances and was able to do it.
“This match gives me a lot of confidence, so we’ll see what will happen in the quarterfinal. I’m playing well, so let’s see.”
Rublev now faces another Frenchmen, Arthur Rinderknech, who emerged victorious from a grueling three-set marathon against the British No. 4 seed, Jack Draper, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4.
Their match, which finished well after midnight and with an eerie mist hovering over center court, yielded only two breaks of serve, both of which went Rinderknech’s way. Despite the defeat, Draper can head home with his head held high as his return to top-level tennis continues after a six-month injury layoff.
On the new court 1, Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands pulled off the biggest upset of the day by taming No. 2 seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. The win earned the world No. 25 a quarterfinal encounter with No. 6 seed Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, who made short work of the Australian, Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2.
