Lucas Hernandez will be out for “a long time”, Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has confirmed.
The defender suffered an ankle injury during Bayern’s Champions League victory over Olympiacos.
Hernandez was seen leaving the stadium on crutches after the thrilling 3-2 win.
“He will be out for a long time. Several weeks,” Salihamidzic told Sport1 after the game.
Manager Niko Kovac added: ”Hernandez has problems with his ankle. We have to see whether the ligament was also affected.
“He has severe pain on the inside of his ankle; that’s why we had to take him out. It’s very frustrating.”
Centre-back Niklas Sule was ruled out for the rest of the season earlier this week after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.
And the injury to record signing Hernandez appears to have compounded the Bavarians’ issues at the back.
Javi Martinez, who can play in central defence, was also forced off during the Olympiacos win, though Kovac believes his problem may be more minor.
“Martinez had a muscular problem in the first half, we didn’t want to take any risks, so we reacted,” Kovac said.
A goal for French midfielder Corentin Tolisso and a double from Robert Lewandowski were enough for Bayern to secure victory and survive a tough test in Greece.
Indeed, Olympiacos took the lead in the game, but the German side survived to continue their perfect Champions League start.
“Our opponents did a really good job today,” Kovac commented on the win.
“They put up a fight over 90 minutes in a great atmosphere here at the stadium. At the end of the day it was a hard-earned victory.
“We’re still satisfied because we now have nine points, we have one foot in the last sixteen. That’s our goal.”
