Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt has been ruled out for an unspecified period of time after suffering a knee ligament injury in Wednesday’s 2-1 German Cup loss to third-tier Saarbruecken, the club said on Thursday.
The Dutch international had to be taken off in the 24th minute of their second-round match.
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“Matthijs de Ligt sustained a partial tear of the ligament in his right knee joint,” the German champions said in a statement.
“That’s the outcome of a scan carried out by the club’s medical department on Thursday. Centre-back de Ligt will therefore miss FC Bayern’s upcoming games.”
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said it appeared to be a repeat of a knee injury that De Ligt suffered in September which sidelined him for three weeks.
“It’s the same knee again, the same capsule [in the joint] again. It’s very painful but there is currently no diagnosis yet,” he said.
De Ligt’s injury present Tuchel with a defensive injury crisis ahead of Saturday’s Der Klassiker at Borussia Dortmund.
Joshua Kimmich, who dropped back into defence alongside Kim Min-Jae on Wednesday after De Ligt went off, is suspended for the game owing to a red card he picked up last week. Meanwhile Davot Upamecano, the only other specialist center-back at the club, remains sidelined with a hamstring injury that has kept him out for a month.
Bayern are in second place in the Bundesliga two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Information from Associated Press was used in this report