Bayern Munich have confirmed that Harry Kane sustained a muscle strain in his right hamstring during their latest Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund.
The 31-year-old striker is expected to be sidelined for a short while, with an estimated recovery time of 2 to 3 weeks.
Kane will miss the upcoming cup game against Bayer Leverkusen and the following games against FC Heidenheim and Shakhtar Donetsk, respectively.
Kane suffered this injury during the first half of the match against Dortmund. The striker felt something wrong and immediately signaled to the medical unit on Bayern’s bench.
He was substituted for Thomas Müller in the 33rd minute, who played in the striker role for the rest of the game.
Harry Kane has been featured in every single Bayern game so far this season (19) and has started in all but one of them (DFB Pokal First round vs SSV Ulm).
Bayern have been fairly reliant on Kane for their goals, as the 31-year-old has scored a whopping 20 goals in 19 games this season. His incredible run of form this season has now been cut short by the hamstring injury.
Kane’s injury only adds to Bayern’s injury woes this season, as key players like Palhinha and Pavlović have already been sidelined for a significant period.
Meanwhile, Hiroki Ito and Stanišić have been out since the start of the season with long-term injuries.
Bayern’s next fixture is against Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 on December 3. Kane’s loss will be a major blow for the Bavarians, as the striker had been in imperious form this season.
Leverkusen, on the other hand, are also without their main goalscorer, Victor Boniface, who has been sidelined due to a muscular injury. However, Patrik Schick has stepped up in the Nigerian’s absence and is finding the back of the net regularly. Unlike Leverkusen, Bayern lack a natural number nine to replace Harry Kane.
Judging by the past games, it will likely be Thomas Müller w
ho, will deputize for Kane as Bayern’s striker.
The German forward had a hard time playing as the lone striker against Dortmund on Saturday.
While it’s not his preferred position, he may have to put in another shift up top in the upcoming game against Bayer Leverkusen. Kompany will hope Müller’s experience and zeal for finding space will work in Bayern’s favor on Tuesday.
Another candidate to fill in for Kane would be Mathys Tel. But it is unlikely that the 19-year-old will be trusted to lead Bayern’s attack in a game of such magnitude.
With another key player sidelined due to injury, Vincent Kompany now faces a huge challenge in preventing Bayern from crashing out of the DFB Pokal early once again.
