FC Bayern has to digest a shock early in the top game against VfB Stuttgart. Aleksandar Pavlovic lies on the pitch with his face contorted in pain. He needs to be replaced. Munich’s sports director Max Eberl now delivers the bitter diagnosis.
Shortly after the game, Bayern Munich’s sports director gave the first interim result. He was asked about Aleksandar Pavlovic’s injury. The defensive midfielder caused a shock in the FC Bayern team early on in the duel against VfB Stuttgart, which FC Bayern ultimately won 4-0 (0-0). Pavlovic hit his right shoulder from a height in the 5th minute after a header duel with Stuttgart’s Fabian Rieder. He immediately signaled that something had happened to him.
After a short treatment on the field, he was accompanied into the dressing room by the record champions’ supervisors; He held his joint with a pained expression on his face. “We assume that it is a broken collarbone,” said Eberl, “for Alex this is really, really dramatic.”
An exact diagnosis is still pending. According to information from “Bild”, Bayern are currently assuming that the 20-year-old German international will be missing for three months.
“Pavlovic has been our best player so far,” says Kompany
“I’m not a doctor,” said Munich coach Vincent Kompany, “but it didn’t look good in the game and it doesn’t look good now. He was perhaps our best player so far. That won’t change his career or how successful he becomes. But it’s a shame for us that he’s no longer there.”
For Pavlovic, this is another personal setback this season. He missed the European Championships in the summer due to tonsillitis.
His likely long absence should be an opportunity for Joao Palhinha. The Portuguese, who came to FC Bayern from FC Fulham in the summer for 50 million euros, has so far been more of a banker than a regular player. But Kompany substituted him for Pavlovic against Stuttgart.
That was probably an indication of how Bayern would likely continue without Pavlovic. Palhinha would have a tough start next week. In the third group game of the Champions League, the Munich team have to play against FC Barcelona on Wednesday (9 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker).
Palhinha showed a good performance against Stuttgart. Bayern coach Kompany praised the national player. “We switched and stayed strong or even got stronger,” he said.
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