What if Neuer doesn't play against Real Madrid?

Concerns over goalkeeper's fitness

Posted Wednesday, April 05, 2017 by Marca.com

Ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League showdown with Bayern Munich, the German champions are concerned over the fitness of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

A column in Tuesday's edition of Bild reveals how much of a worry Neuer's injury problems could be for the clash.

"There are a lot of Germans going to Rome for the holiday season," it began. "When they enter St Peter's Basilica, they should pray for Bayern and Neuer.

After sustaining a foot injury in training, he missed Bayern's last game which was a 6-0 win over Augsburg and will also sit out Tuesday's clash against Hoffenheim.

Carlo Ancelotti hopes to have him back for Saturday's meeting with Borussia Dortmund, although the bigger concern is the Champions League quarter-final against Real on April 12.

Although both the Italian and the media in Germany haven't revealed too much about the injury, the ex-Real boss is insistent that both Neuer and Douglas Costa will feature against the competition's holders.

In the event of his absence, Sven Ulreich would likely step in, a 28-year-old goalkeeper who has made just four appearances for the Bavarians, two with Pep Guardiola and two with Ancelotti.

Last season, he featured in the first round of Germany's domestic cup against Nottingem and again in the Champions League against Dinamo, with Bayern's progression from the group phase already assured and did make a brief cameo in a Bundesliga meeting with Hannover with the title already won.

This year, he has played just two games, featuring in the win over Augsburg and Bayern's surprise 3-2 loss away to Rostov in the Champions League, the game in which they have conceded the most goals during the current campaign.

Ulreich arrived from Stuttgart in June 2015, when he replaced Pepe Reina as Bayern's substitute goalkeeper, unsurprisingly finding playing time very difficult to come by.