It has been a very gloomy week for Bayern Munich fans indeed. The euphoria(?) of beating SC Freiburg on their home turf (where they were unbeaten for quite some time) has long evaporated. In its place is the devastating defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League, the spat between Leroy Sané and Sadio Mané, which ended up costing the latter a place in Bayern’s next game against Hoffenheim, and the bad news that star striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting would be out for said game.
However, at the end of that very dark tunnel, there was also some good news. According to coach Thomas Tuchel, currently injured team captain Manuel Neuer has resumed training with the ball.
“At the moment it’s a big pleasure to watch Manu in rehab because he’s progressing every day,” said Tuchel. “Yesterday, I heard noise near my office, it was him doing his first goalkeeping exercises with the ball.”
Neuer, as we all know, broke his leg last December in a horrific skiing accident. However, just four months after the injury, he is seemingly back on the pitch already. Judging from how Tuchel briefly described the exercise: “he saved the first few balls,” it looks like Neuer is at least conducting some intermediate goalkeeper training, not just passing the ball around. Goalkeeping drills take a toll on the body, so it can be safely assumed that Neuer is rapidly on his way back to tip-top shape.
It is quite remarkable how quickly Neuer is recovering. There have not been that many open reports on Neuer’s progress, but from the bits and pieces that have been released, he seems to be on a very good track. Back in late February, Neuer was spotted walking without crutches to a team meeting, which was surprising enough. Now, he is not only back on the ball, but apparently jumping around as well.
Of course, this is not to say that Neuer is taking any risks. However, it is encouraging to see that the big injury has not dented Neuer’s spirits in the slightest. As of now, he is on the right track to be back with the team at the start of next season’s preparations. Considering his not-at-all young age of 37, this is pretty astonishing.
Fingers crossed Neuer recovers good and well and gets back to doing what he does best!
