Germany central defender Niklas Suele will miss the rest of the season and Euro-2020 after injuring his knee playing for Bayern at the weekend, club president Uli Hoeness said on Monday.
“Apparently, the season is over for him, he can forget about the Euros,” Hoeness said.
The 24-year-old tore his left knee anterior cruciate ligament on Saturday in Bayern’s 2-2 Bundesliga draw in Augsburg. He had surgery on Monday.
Joachim Loew, the national coach, said it was “very bad news” and called Suele was “a pillar” in his reconstruction project for the Euros.
Loew put his faith in Suele when he said in March that he would no longer pick veterans Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels, who between them had won 146 caps and started together in the 2014 World Cup final.
The German team’s displays since then suggest that Loew had not yet found the right partner for the 6ft 5in Suele at the heart of his defence.
Bayern coach Niko Kovac has other, non-German, options in central defence, including French internationals Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez, and Spaniard Javi Martinez.
When asked if he could look for an additional defender during the winter transfer window Hoeness said: “We won’t go looking for anyone”.
