Luis Diaz is likely to miss four to six weeks for Bayern Munich after suffering a torn muscle bundle in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal, an injury that often results from physical overload. The warning signs had appeared earlier, and the timing could hardly be worse for the club.
Head coach Vincent Kompany recently learned the same lesson about pushing through discomfort. He caught a “pretty nasty virus” last week and admitted he “of course didn’t listen to my body, and eventually my body said: ‘Now stop it, lad!'” Too weak to do much else, Kompany coached Bayern’s 6-1 win over RB Leipzig largely from a seated position. He then spent the days before the Arsenal match at home.
On Friday afternoon, Kompany reportedly collapsed after training at Bayern’s Säbener Straße facility, and reports said a helicopter was deployed. Bayern have not yet commented, and it remains unclear whether the incident is connected to his earlier illness.
Diaz pushed through warning signs
Diaz’s body had sent a signal during the Leipzig win. The Colombian was the standout player on the pitch, scoring three goals, providing one direct assist and contributing to the build-up of another. Despite muscular problems, he stayed on after Bayern had used all their substitutions, even though he had been due to come off.
“We were a little afraid that something had happened. We were actually lucky that he trained on Tuesday, though not at 100 per cent,” Kompany said on Wednesday, before the Arsenal game.
Kompany nevertheless brought Diaz on in the 68th minute with Bayern leading 2-1. Diaz touched the ball only once more before sinking to the turf in the 90th minute after a sprint, his face contorted in pain. Against Leipzig, Bayern had no substitutions left when he needed to come off. Against Arsenal, they chose to bring him on despite his incomplete return to training, and he suffered a fairly serious injury.
Bayern now face four to six weeks without Diaz, who is arguably the only player in their squad with no direct backup. Until the international break begins on 9 November, every week brings a midweek fixture, including Bundesliga matches against SC Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund, the DFB Cup tie against Magdeburg and the Champions League game against Atletico Madrid.
Why Bayern lacked a backup
Bayern’s squad planners seriously considered signing an alternative to Diaz during the summer. They identified Antony as their top target for a versatile left winger, but the Brazilian eventually moved from Manchester United to Real Betis, and the club pulled out of the race. Bayern instead signed Ismael Saibari, whose strengths lie mainly in central attacking positions but who is also versatile.
The club had promised the backup role to 20-year-old left winger Arijon Ibrahimovic. After a successful loan spell at Heidenheim, he looked set for a rotation role at Bayern, but the club loaned him to FC Augsburg at short notice. The late change surprised Ibrahimovic, his agent Roman Rummenigge and Diaz himself.
“Of course I always want to play. But if there’s someone there who can help in my position, they’re very welcome. It helps a lot when things aren’t going well. Then your team-mate is there to help you, and you take turns. That’s very important. I would have liked it. But, well, it didn’t happen. We’re good as we are, too,” Diaz said in a September interview with Sky/RTL. A few days later, his national-team coach and Bayern granted him a special two-week break to recover from the exertions of the previous season, including the World Cup.
Diaz had endured a brief dip in form and goalscoring after the World Cup, one he had only just played his way out of. This is his first injury since a serious knee injury at Liverpool in the 2022/2023 season kept him out for almost half a year.
Davies steps in on the left
Diaz’s absence leaves Bayern short in an attacking department already hit by injuries. Jamal Musiala is still working his way back in training after a torn muscle fibre. Serge Gnabry impressed against Arsenal but is not yet at 100 per cent after a persistent adductor injury. Lennart Karl is still searching for form after a torn muscle bundle in June that, like Gnabry’s problem, caused him to miss the World Cup.
Karl started on the bench against Arsenal despite Musiala’s absence, Michael Olise’s suspension and the decision not to start Diaz. Gnabry played on the right wing, while left-back Alphonso Davies deputized on the left. Both impressed.
Kompany revealed that Bayern had already considered Davies as an attacking option during the summer, even though they had converted him to left-back after his move from MLS to Munich. “We have good depth in defence and know that we can always use Phonzy on the wings too,” Kompany said.
If Plan A was Diaz and Plan B a summer signing, Davies now appears to be Plan C. That is working for now, although the Canadian has repeatedly struggled with injuries recently and still has to prove his reliability.
Options for the coming months
Saibari has also played on the left wing twice this season after coming on as a substitute, and Gnabry can play almost anywhere. For now, Bayern should be able to cope with a month without Diaz. Little else can go wrong, however. If the squad runs short, they may have to promote 19-year-old Tim Binder permanently from the amateurs. Binder became the hero of the city derby in the second team’s recent 4-2 win over 1860 Munich and made the first-team squad for the first time against Arsenal.
Next summer, Bayern reportedly want to address the imbalance on the left side of their attack. According to Sky, they are considering Antonio Nusa of RB Leipzig.