Foreseeable worst-case scenario involving Luis Diaz: Vincent Kompany’s plan C at Bayern Munich is still working
Luis Diaz’s bitter muscle injury in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal appears to have been coming. It comes at an inconvenient time for Bayern Munich in several respects.
Vincent Kompany recently found out what happens when you ignore your body. Bayern Munich's coach caught a "pretty nasty virus" last week and had "of course not listened to my body, and then at some point my body said: 'Now stop it, lad!'" Too weak to do much else, Kompany spent most of Bayern's 6-1 win over RB Leipzig coaching from his seat. He then stayed at home until the 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
Luis Diaz's body had apparently warned him during the 6-1 win over Leipzig, when the forward was the outstanding player on the pitch with three goals, a direct assist and a contribution to the build-up of another goal.
Bayern had planned to take Diaz off because of muscular problems, but he stayed on because they had already used all their substitutions. "We were a little worried that something had happened. We were actually lucky that he trained on Tuesday, though not at 100 per cent," Kompany explained on Wednesday before the match against Arsenal.
How long will Luis Diaz be out for Bayern Munich?
Despite those concerns, Diaz came on in the 68th minute with Bayern leading 2-1. David Raya saved his early chance, but Diaz touched the ball only once more before sinking to the turf in the 90th minute after a sprint, his face contorted in pain. A muscle bundle tear, an injury that very often results from physical overload. Now stop it, lad!
The injury is likely to keep Diaz out for four to six weeks. Until the international break starting on 9 November, Bayern have midweek fixtures every week, including important Bundesliga matches against SC Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund, the cup match against Magdeburg and the Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.
For four to six weeks, Bayern must manage without the only player in their squad who has no direct backup. Could they have seen it coming?
Why did Bayern not sign a backup for Luis Diaz?
In the summer, Bayern's squad planners gave serious thought to signing an alternative to the Colombian, who is hardly ever injured. They had even identified versatile left winger Antony Gordon as their top target for the transfer window. But the Englishman eventually moved from Newcastle United to Barcelona for a fee of €80 million. "Too expensive in the end," sporting director Max Eberl said, explaining why Bayern pulled out of the race.
Bayern instead signed Ismael Saibari, whose strengths lie primarily in central attacking positions but who, like Gordon, can play in a variety of roles. The club eventually promised Diaz's backup role to 20-year-old left winger Arijon Ibrahimovic. After a successful loan spell at Heidenheim, he looked set for a rotation role at Bayern, only for the club to loan him to FC Augsburg at short notice.
That decision surprised Ibrahimovic and his agent Roman Rummenigge, as well as Luis Diaz. "Of course I always want to play. But if there's someone who can help in my position: they're very welcome. It helps a lot when things aren't going well. Then your team-mate is there to help you – and that's how you take turns. That's very important. I would have liked it. But, well, it didn't happen. We're good as we are, too," Diaz said in an interview with Sky/RTL in September. A few days later, his national team coach and Bayern granted him two weeks' special leave to recover from the exertions of the previous season, including the World Cup.
After the World Cup, Diaz suffered a minor dip in form and goalscoring that he had only just overcome. Now he is injured. It is his first injury since a serious knee injury at Liverpool in the 2022/2023 season kept him out for almost six months.
It could be "back to the roots" for Alphonso Davies now
Bayern are already short of attacking options. Jamal Musiala is still working his way back in training after a muscle fibre tear, while Serge Gnabry impressed against Arsenal but is not yet at 100 per cent after a persistent adductor injury.
Meanwhile, Lennart Karl is still searching for his form after a muscle bundle tear in June that, like Gnabry, caused him to miss the World Cup. Despite Musiala's absence, Michael Olise's suspension and the decision not to start Luis Diaz, Karl began the Arsenal match on the bench. The versatile Gnabry played on the right wing instead, with left-back Alphonso Davies deputising for Diaz.
Both impressed. Kompany said afterwards that Bayern had already considered Davies as an attacking option in the summer, even though he became a left-back only after his move from MLS to Munich. "We have good cover in defence and know that we can always use Phonzy on the wings too," Kompany said.
With Luis Diaz as plan A and a new summer signing as plan B, Davies appears to be plan C. It is working for now, although the Canadian has repeatedly struggled with injuries recently and still has plenty to prove when it comes to reliability.
Will Bayern sign a new left winger next summer?
Saibari has also played on the left wing twice after coming on as a substitute this season, while Gnabry can play anywhere.
In principle, Bayern should be able to cope with a month without Luis Diaz. But they can ill afford anything else to go wrong. Otherwise, they may have to promote someone like Tim Binder (19) permanently from the amateurs. Binder recently became the hero of the city derby in the second side's 4-2 win over 1860 Munich. He was in the senior squad for the first time against the Gunners.
Next summer, Bayern reportedly plan to address the imbalance on the left side of their attack. According to Sky, they are considering Antonio Nusa of RB Leipzig.
