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Reuters
Dec 2, 2024, 06:20 AM ET
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has backed his side to score enough goals to succeed this season, despite an injury to star striker Harry Kane.
The England captain, who has 20 goals across all competitions this season and leads the Bundesliga scorers’ list with 14, suffered a thigh muscle injury in Saturday’s 1-1 league draw at Borussia Dortmund.
Kane is expected to be out for “several games” but Kompany said he hoped he could still return to action before the winter break starts on Dec. 22. Bayern are top of the Bundesliga, four points ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt.
“It is difficult to say at this moment but there is a chance for him to still play this year,” Kompany told a news conference on Monday.
“But he will miss several games and to replace him, you know you cannot replace the goals or the player one-for-one. That’s why he is a top player.”
Kompany said players such as Thomas Müller Serge Gnabry, Michael Olise and Leroy Sané had enough experience to fill the gap.
“We have talent in the team and need to solve it differently. We won’t be lacking talent tomorrow but it will look different,” Kompany said.
“We have many options. Thomas Müller, Mathys Tel, Gnabry, Olise, Leroy. I now named almost everyone. Obviously, Harry has scored 20 goals… but we have dangerous players in attack.”
Bayern face Bayer Leverkusen in the German Cup round-of-16 on Tuesday. They haven’t won the tournament since 2020 and have failed to get past the quarterfinals since, losing in the second round in three of the past four seasons.
“We play the Cup holders tomorrow. One of the top two or three games in Germany, and I hope our performance will match the importance of the game,” Kompany said.