Munich, Jan 4, (dpa/GNA) – Bayern Munich’s coronavirus woes have grown further ahead of Friday’s Bundesliga restart, when winger Leroy Sane and defender Dayot Upamecano became their seventh and eighth player to go into isolation after positive tests.
Bayern said in a brief statement Tuesday that “both players are well and are self-isolating.”
Leipzig and Hertha Berlin also announced positive cases on the day, but champions and leaders Bayern could now even see their first game against Borussia Mönchengladbach Friday endangered.
Sane and Upamecano follow Lucas Hernandez, Tanguy Nianzou, Manuel Neuer, Kingsley Coman, Corentin Tolisso and Omar Richards into isolation.
Bouna Sarr and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting are also not available because they are on duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts on Sunday in Cameroon.
Under coronavirus rules, a team can apply for a match to be postponed if it has less than 15 players including one goalkeeper, available, with the final decision to be made by the German Football League (DFL).
Bayern would have 15 players available, two of them goalkeepers, if Leon Goretzka is fit to play. Goretzka and winger Serge Gnabry were training individually Tuesday.
The only good news for Bayern was that Josip Stanisic did not become a third Bayern player on the day to test positive. He tested negative after a previous inconclusive test, sources told dpa.
Leipzig meanwhile have five infected players after Nordi Mukiele, Benjamin Henrichs and Dani Olmo tested positive after inconclusive tests, joining Christopher Nkunku and Solomon Bonnah in isolation.
But forward Andre Silva has left quarantine in his native Portugal after a negative test, and could feature against Mainz on Saturday.
Linus Gechter meanwhile became the fourth Hertha Berlin defender to test positive and will miss Sunday’s game against Cologne.
The other defenders to have contracted the Sars-CoV-2 virus are captain Dedryk Boyata, Deyovaisio Zeefuik and newly-signed Fredrik Andre Björkan.
GNA