By Manuel Schwarz, dpa
Munich (dpa) – Bayern Munich returned to team training on Sunday ahead of the resumption of the Champions League with a full squad available, although Benjamin Pavard soon withdrew injured.
The France defender broke off from the session and had treatment on his foot, a live stream of training showed. He was driven away on a cart and a club statement said he was “set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a metatarsal ligament injury.”
No timeframe on a return was given but the August Champions League campaign could be in doubt.
Otherwise coach Hansi Flick could watch the progress of his other 26 outfield players and four goalkeepers without any problem.
“They are very focused and the training level is of an extremely high quality,” Flick told a news conference.
Niklas Suele and Philippe Coutinho were fit after injury and new signing Leroy Sane was there, even if he is ineligible for the Champions League.
Bayern had two weeks off after wrapping up another domestic league and cup double at the end of June and early July. They returned to individual training last week and have a friendly against Marseille on Friday before hosting Chelsea in their Champions League last-16 second leg on August 8.
“We will switch our sole focus to Chelsea after the Marseille game on Friday. Chelsea have played very well in recent weeks, so it’s crucial that we go into that game completely focused,” Flick said.
The Bavarians are targeting a second treble after 2013 when the Champions League restarts following its coronavirus hiatus.
The Chelsea game is without fans but Bayern are already 3-0 up from February’s away leg. They look well set for the quarter-finals, where they would meet Barcelona or Napoli.
The last eight and the rest of the competition will be played as one-off games in Portugal in August.
Flick confirmed that Bayern plan to hold a training camp on Portugal’s Algarve coast if they beat Chelsea, before heading up to Lisbon for the August 14 quarter-final.
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