Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer has a partial tendon tear in his right foot and will be out "for the time being", the club said on Sunday. The 40-year-old goalkeeper was replaced shortly before half-time in Saturday's 2-1 win at Mainz, with Bayern leading through Kimmich's 14th-minute goal.
What the club has said
Bayern gave no detailed timeline. According to Sport1, six to eight weeks should be expected, which would end Neuer's first half of the season; Sportschau writes that he will not play for Bayern again in 2026. Neuer posted a photo on crutches on Instagram: "An injury never comes at the right time, but it is part of the game. I have been through this before and will get through this situation too." He added that he is focusing on his recovery and will back the team on the pitch wherever he can.
How it happened
Neuer went for a set-piece cross from Mainz's Nadiem Amiri and missed it after a misunderstanding with Bayern's Jonathan Tah, Sport1 reports. Mainz put the ball into the empty goal, but the effort was ruled out for offside. Neuer signalled that he was in pain and was treated on his right foot, then his deputy Jonas Urbig came on. It was Neuer's fourth injury substitution this calendar year, according to Sport1, and Sportschau notes that he became Bayern's oldest Bundesliga player in the match.
A problem that predates Mainz
The foot was already an issue. At the end of October the club spoke of a persistent tendon irritation, and Neuer missed several matches before returning on Tuesday for the Champions League tie at Atlético Madrid, which Bayern won 2-0. After that game he admitted he was in pain every day when walking, Sportschau reports. After the match, Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl said: "It is what was there before. It has come back now. We hope it is not that bad."
The goalkeeper debate
Urbig, who has also been named in Germany's squad, is expected to take over. Sportschau counts eight games for Bayern between the international break and the end of the year in the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal. 1996 European champion Steffen Freund said on Sport1's Doppelpass that Bayern should make Urbig their number one now and Neuer be taken out rather than play in pain: "If I am no longer fit, then you are not allowed to play any more. Bayern have to take him out and not let him play in pain." Sportschau's Luise Kropff, a host of its Bundesliga Update podcast, also wants Urbig in goal for the rest of the season.
Where Bayern stand
Bayern lead the Bundesliga on 21 points from nine games, level with unbeaten Dortmund and ahead of them on goal difference: +20 (29 scored, 9 conceded) against +9. Freiburg are third on 19. Bayern are unbeaten in the league as well, with six wins and three draws. Their first game after the break is at home to Köln on Friday 20 November at 20:30.
