Manuel Neuer’s thigh injury on Wednesday, which occurred before the goalkeeper’s planned comeback, gave a setback to Germany’s preparations for the European Championship.
Germany’s World Cup captain was scheduled to return to the national team after breaking his leg in a skiing accident, but he suffered a muscle fiber tear in his left adductor during training on Wednesday morning, according to the German football federation.
It stated that the 37-year-old Neuer would miss Germany’s next friendly against the Netherlands and France, but it provided no other details on the duration of his absence. Neuer had already left the squad.
Germany’s next matches are against the Netherlands in Frankfurt on Tuesday and France in Lyon on Saturday.
Shortly after returning from the 2022 World Cup, Neuer fractured his leg while skiing and he didn’t play for Germany since. He was absent from the game for over ten months before returning to his position as Bayern Munich’s No. 1.
In Neuer’s absence, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann is quite likely to start Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen as No. 1. There had been rumours that Nagelsmann was favouring Neuer in between the posts for Euro 2024.
Just 11 days before Germany’s opening Euro 2024 match against Scotland in Munich, on June 3, a friendly against Ukraine in Nuremberg will be Neuer’s first chance to play for his country if he regains his place.
