Manuel Neuer underwent a partial removal of the medial meniscus in his right knee in Innsbruck on Sunday. What happens next for the FC Bayern goalkeeper and the national team?
It’s the good side of the bad news: After the operation performed on Manuel Neuer’s (35) right knee on Sunday, the keeper is expected to be available again for FC Bayern München in the hot phase of the season. His downtime is estimated at four to six weeks.
The captain is expected to be back in goal for the record champions in the possible Champions League quarter-finals (5/6 April and 12/13 April) at the latest. Neuer will miss both matches in the round of 16 against Salzburg (6 February and 8 March), as well as the Bundesliga matches against Bochum, Fürth, Frankfurt and Leverkusen in any case.
Surgery on the medial meniscus has been on the cards for a while
Whether Neuer will be able to play in the matches against Hoffenheim (12 March) and Union Berlin (19 March) or even be rested for the international test matches against Iceland (26 March) and the Netherlands (29 March) depends, of course, on the healing process. A comeback at this stage would certainly be a nice present for Neuer on his 36th birthday on 27 March.
A possible operation on Neuer’s right inner meniscus had been under discussion for some time. Now it was suddenly implemented on the day after the 3:2 win against RB Leipzig – when no impairment was visible in the FCB goalkeeper’s strong hold. Part of the inner meniscus was removed. This is to prevent further tearing of the meniscus. Neuer was operated on by Professor Dr. Christian Fink in Innsbruck. The renowned specialist had already successfully treated Leroy Sané’s cruciate ligament tear in the summer of 2019.
Ulreich has the chance to promote himself – his contract runs out
At Bayern, the focus now shifts to Neuer’s substitute Sven Ulreich (33), who has only made two competitive appearances this season: in the 12-0 DFB-Pokal 1st round defeat to Bremer SV and in the 2-1 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach at the start of the second half of the season, when Neuer and many others were missing due to a Corona infection. Now Ulreich has the chance to make another lasting impression: his contract expires at the end of the season – there have been no talks about a possible extension so far.
