Neuer injury setback puts Jonas Urbig in Bayern goal for Viking clash

Neuer injury setback puts Jonas Urbig in Bayern goal for Viking clash

Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany confirmed that Neuer had been unable to train ahead of the trip to Norway, making it unlikely that the experienced goalkeeper would feature.

"Manuel can't train today. He's felt something in his foot. So that quickly answers the question of who will be in goal tomorrow," Kompany said at his pre-match press conference on Monday.

Neuer first reported the problem after Bayern's 2-2 draw with Augsburg on Saturday. Although the club initially hoped he would be fit to train, Kompany does not want to take unnecessary risks with his first-choice goalkeeper.

"We heard after the Augsburg game that he'd felt something. You never know how long it'll take, but given he couldn't train yesterday or today, it makes no sense to take any unnecessary risks," the Bayern coach explained.

Kompany added that he was unsure whether Neuer would travel with the squad, but indicated that he was very unlikely to start against Viking.

"I don't want to call it an injury, but when you feel something and it doesn't get better, at some point you realise we need to do something. We'll do that by taking no risk if he doesn't feel 100 percent," he said.

Urbig is now in line to make his third start of the season for the German champions. The young goalkeeper made 20 appearances last season and has continued to gain valuable experience since joining Bayern from Cologne.

His progress has also earned him recognition at international level. Urbig recently made his senior debut for Germany, starting their 2-0 victory over Serbia before featuring in a goalless draw against Greece.

Kompany believes the opportunities Urbig has received at club level have played an important role in his development.

"We started our process with Jonas when he arrived from Köln. We're going according to plan. He's got the minutes we wanted to give him for his development," Kompany said.

"He played in the cup final, in several Champions League games. The fact he's now also playing for Germany is a result of that development. And every minute is good for his development."

Urbig will therefore have another opportunity to impress on Europe's biggest club stage as Bayern look to maintain their Champions League campaign without their regular goalkeeper.

Bayern will also be without Jamal Musiala, who remains sidelined with a thigh injury.

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