Bayern's Musiala out for ‘long period' with broken fibula
PARIS: Bayern Munich playmaker Jamal Musiala faces a 'long period' on the sidelines after he suffered a broken fibula and an ankle dislocation at the Club World Cup, the German champions said on Sunday. The 22-year-old Germany international was hurt in a challenge with Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma as Bayern lost 2-0 in the quarter-finals in Atlanta on Saturday. Coach Vincent Kompany was incensed by the injury but called it an 'accident'. Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer criticized Donnarumma though for being 'reckless'. Musiala was on a flight back to Munich on Sunday morning and will undergo surgery soon, Bayern said in a statement. 'This serious injury and the lengthy lay-off are a real shock for Jamal and us all. This hits FC Bayern,' said sporting director Max Eberl.
'Everyone knows how immensely important Jamal is for our game and what a central role he has in our team. 'Furthermore, there's also a huge human impact and we all feel for him: Jamal has just come back from an injury and will now be out for another long period. He'll get everything he needs from us. 'We'll support him intensively, be by his side and already look forward to when he's back on the pitch.'
According to German media, Musiala is expected to miss four to five months and could return just before the end of the year. 'It's a situation where you don't have to go in like that; it's reckless,' Neuer said after the match. 'He accepts the risk of injuring his opponent.' Musiala missed the end of the season, including Bayern's Champions League quarter-final exit to Inter Milan, with a torn hamstring and was not part of Germany's Nations League squad in early June.
He returned in time for the Club World Cup and scored a hat-trick off the bench against amateurs Auckland City in a 10-0 win in Bayern's opening game of the tournament. Musiala's absence will be felt by both Bayern and Germany, who will be without one of their key players for their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign that begins in September. 'Jamal's injury is a big shock for us as well, especially given he had just come back after a muscle injury. We wish him the best for the operation as well as a speedy recovery,' said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
an hour ago
- Kuwait Times
Youthful Chelsea ready for Thiago Silva reunion
EAST RUTHERFORD: Chelsea's young side are targeting a place in the final of the Club World Cup when they take on Fluminense in the last four on Tuesday, with the Brazilian team marshalled by former Blues defender Thiago Silva who is still going strong at the age of 40. Silva was already a veteran when he signed for Chelsea in 2020 before going on to have an impressive four-year stint at Stamford Bridge. One of the finest centre-backs of his generation, Silva arrived after eight years at Paris Saint-Germain and in his first season at Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League. He played 155 games for the London club and left 12 months ago after helping oversee the development of some of the young talents now featuring regularly under Enzo Maresca. 'He's a legend of football, a top player,' Marc Cucurella, a teammate of Silva's for two years, told English media, adding that the two had exchanged messages about their impending reunion. 'We have the opportunity to play against him again and hopefully we can do good things, win this game and play in the final.' Silva initially made his name at Fluminense, featuring in the team that reached the Copa Libertadores final in 2008 before losing to LDU Quito of Ecuador. He returned there upon leaving Chelsea, once again pulling on the green, red and white of the Rio de Janeiro outfit who won the Copa Libertadores in 2023. The evergreen Brazil international was then reunited earlier this year with Renato Gaucho, the coach in 2008 who is now in his sixth spell in charge. An impressive run at the Club World Cup has seen Fluminense hold Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, eliminate Inter Milan in the last 16 and get the better of Saudi powerhouse Al Hilal in the quarter-finals. 'If you had asked me beforehand if we would have got this far I would have said we were a long way away from doing so,' Silva told broadcaster DAZN after the victory over Al Hilal. 'We know the financial size of these teams, the difference is enormous, absurd. But often our collective, the family atmosphere that we have, gives us strength that you maybe don't think you have.' EAST RUTHERFORD: Thiago Silva participates in a training session at the Harrison Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 7, 2025. — AFP photos Brazilian opposition again It is not just Silva raising the average age at Fluminense. There is also 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio, wing-back Samuel Xavier at 35 and 37-year-old Argentine forward German Cano. But the man giving them the X-factor is 27-year-old Colombian winger Jhon Arias, unquestionably one of the players of the tournament. 'I have watched some games that they have played and you can see that they are very well organized. They have some very good players. The manager is doing a fantastic job,' Maresca said as he prepares to face Brazilian opposition for the third time at the tournament. They lost to Flamengo in the group stage but beat Palmeiras in the quarter-finals in Philadelphia. 'The energy from Brazilian teams in this competition has been high — probably the reason why is because they are at the start of their season while we are finished the season,' Maresca added. Chelsea now get their first taste of the MetLife Stadium, the hulking 82,500-capacity venue in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just outside New York City. Many of Maresca's players may not have been sure what to make of FIFA's new tournament which came at the end of a campaign in which they finished fourth in the Premier League and won the UEFA Conference League. But suddenly they stand one game from the final, in which they would face either Real Madrid or PSG. With Silva gone, Maresca has been working with a young squad at Chelsea, and the average age of his starting line-up against Palmeiras last Friday was just 24. There are more young players coming in too, with 23-year-old Brazilian forward Joao Pedro, formerly of Fluminense, making his debut in the quarter-finals. Brazil prodigy Estevao Willian, 18, will join from Palmeiras ahead of next season and 20-year-old winger Jamie Gittens has just signed from Borussia Dortmund. Moises Caicedo, the midfield linchpin who is still only 23, will return to the midfield against Fluminense after suspension. — AFP
Arab Times
3 hours ago
- Arab Times
Dehydrated Mbappé delayed by doping test after Real Madrid win
NEW JERSEY, July 7: Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé found himself alone at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night after his team departed for the airport without him following a 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Club World Cup quarterfinals in the United States. Mbappé, who scored his first goal of the tournament during the victory, remained behind after being selected for a mandatory doping test. While the rest of the Real Madrid squad boarded the team bus en route to West Palm Beach, Miami, the French star was delayed on the field for nearly an hour. Sources close to the team revealed that Mbappé had difficulty providing a sample due to dehydration, compounded by the intense heat and a recent recovery from a stomach and intestinal illness. Nearly an hour after the team's departure, Mbappé finally exited the stadium. He left in a black vehicle, accompanied by a club official and escorted by five police cars, to catch up with the team at the airport. Mbappé had missed Real Madrid's first three matches in the Club World Cup. He returned to action as a substitute in the round of 16 match against Juventus, and again in the quarterfinal showdown with Dortmund.
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Kuwait Times
Mbappe's overhead kick propels Real Madrid to win over Dortmund
PSG set up Club World Cup semi clash with Mbappe's Real Madrid ATLANTA: Nine-man Paris Saint-Germain set up a Club World Cup semi-final clash against their former superstar striker Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid with a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich on Saturday in Atlanta. Los Blancos squeezed out Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in New Jersey in the day's other quarter-final clash, with Mbappe on the scoresheet for the first time at the tournament. Luis Enrique's PSG needed to dig deep in front of 67,000 fans at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium after late red cards for Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez. The French side won the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history in May, despite their key player Mbappe departing for Real last year. ATLANTA: PSG's Ousmane Dembele (right) celebrates scoring his team's second goal with Achraf Hakimi during the Club World Cup quarterfinal match with Bayern Munich on July 5, 2025. — AFP photos Young forward Desire Doue, who shone on PSG's road to European glory, and Ballon d'Or candidate Ousmane Dembele got the goals in the second half of an enthralling clash against Vincent Kompany's Bayern, who had two strikes ruled out for offside. The German giants also lost playmaker Jamal Musiala to a horror ankle injury just before half-time, which Kompany said made his 'blood boil' because of how unfortunate it is for the 22-year-old. 'After the first red card it became complicated, then with two players less it was a bit of a lottery,' said a relieved Luis Enrique. PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his Bayern counterpart Manuel Neuer both made several excellent saves in a pulsating battle at the air-conditioned, covered venue which allowed both sides' high-pressing, attacking approaches to shine. Players and spectators at both matches observed a minute of silence in honour of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who tragically died in a car crash on Thursday. PSG's clash with Bayern was FIFA's expanded tournament's biggest heavyweight clash thus far and the game delivered, even if fans had to wait until the 78th minute for the opener. After Harry Kane gave the ball away, PSG surged forward and 20-year-old Doue fashioned some space on the edge of the box before flashing a low strike home at the near post. Bayern were given hope as they hunted for an equalizer when PSG defender Pacho was sent off for a high tackle on Leon Goretzka after 83 minutes. Kane had a goal disallowed for offside, like Bayern's Dayot Upamecano in the first half, and after Hernandez was dismissed for an elbow Dembele tucked home the second in stoppage time, paying tribute to Jota by copying his video-gaming celebration. 'In the first half we showed them who we are and they had problems with us,' said Bayern substitute Thomas Mueller, who played his last game for the club. Borussia Dortmund's Yan Couto fights for the ball with Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe as he scores his team's third goal. Mbappe strikes Real Madrid cruised for the most part against Dortmund before a flurry of goals at the end left them in danger of losing their lead. Xabi Alonso, unbeaten at the helm, shifted back to a four-man defence against Niko Kovac's side, shorn of suspended Jobe Bellingham, who would have loved to face his older brother, Madrid's Jude. The coach decided to leave Mbappe, who missed the three group games after a stomach bug, on the bench and persist with Gonzalo Garcia up front. The 21-year-old striker paid back Alonso for his confidence by grabbing his fourth goal of the tournament after 10 minutes with a close-range finish from Arda Guler's cross. 'He's doing great work for the team ... he's in the right position in the box, he's a proper number nine,' said Alonso. In the 20th minute Fran Garcia doubled Los Blancos' lead, rushing into the box to polish off Trent Alexander-Arnold's dangerous ball across the face of goal. Madrid were cruising to victory until Max Beier drilled home in stoppage time. Real responded, with substitute Mbappe netting his 44th goal of the season with an acrobatic finish from another Guler cross. He paid tribute to the late Jota by making the number 20 with his hands, the Portuguese striker's shirt number at Liverpool. Madrid were not home and dry. Dean Huijsen was sent off for tugging back Serhou Guirassy as he ran through and the Guinea international netted from the spot, but Dortmund had no time to equalize. 'Everything was under control with the result, not conceding much, but the last 10 minutes were kind of crazy,' said Alonso. 'We lost our shape and our intensity, and luckily nothing went wrong.' — AFP
