Kovac confirms Neuer has suffered another calf injury

Niko Kovac has confirmed Manuel Neuer suffered an injury to the same calf that kept him out of action earlier this month in Bayern Munich’s 4-1 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf on Sunday.

The Germany international pulled up early in the second half after slipping while attempting to make a pass and was replaced by Sven Ulreich.

Neuer missed Bayern’s DFB-Pokal quarter-final win against Heidenheim on April 3 but was fit enough to feature in his side’s 5-0 thumping of title rivals Borussia Dortmund last weekend.

Speaking after the game, though, Kovac says the 33-year-old – who missed almost the entirety of the 2017-18 season with a broken foot – has damaged the same calf that previously troubled him.

“It’s the same calf that he had problems with last time,” he said. “We’ll examine it tomorrow [Monday] and hope, of course, that it’s nothing serious.”

Bayern’s win over Fortuna lifted them back above Borussia Dortmund at the Bundesliga summit by one point with five games remaining.

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— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) April 14, 2019