Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will be sidelined for the rest of the year after suffering a broken rib, head coach Vincent Kompany has confirmed.
Neuer missed Saturday's Bundesliga win over Heidenheim and joins a number of Bayern players on the injury list.
The 38-year-old was injured during last week's German Cup defeat to Bayer Leverkusen after crashing into an opponent and being sent off with a straight red card, his first ever.
“He has a broken rib. He probably won't play again this year. It is important that this heals and we will have him again from January,” Kompany told reporters on Monday.
“It's not too bad, but with so many games it's too early for him to play.”
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Bayern are missing, among others, the injured top scorer Harry Kane, Joao Palhinha, Alphonso Davies and Serge Gnabry for Tuesday's match against Shakhtar Donetsk.
But with the winter break approaching, Kompany said the Bundesliga leaders have done well so far to compensate for the absences.
The Bavarians are in thirteenth place on nine points in the Champions League table and are one point outside the top eight, which automatically qualifies for the last sixteen.
Hosts Shakhtar, who will host the match in Gelsenkirchen, are 26th with four points, two points clear of the play-off places.
“The problem with the injuries is that there are obviously a lot of people absent, but we have held up well so far,” Kompany added.
“We will have a large selection again from the beginning of January. We have handled it well so far.”
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