Sawt Falasteen - Bayern's Neuer sidelined again with leg issue

"Neuer must scale back his workload for the time being due to a muscle problem in his left calf," Bayern said in a statement.

Bayern did not specify the length of Neuer's absence as the Bundesliga champions play Stuttgart in the Cup final in Berlin next Saturday aiming for their 14th league and cup double.

The 40-year-old Neuer, who recently extended his contract with Bayern for another season until the summer of 2027, was substituted after an hour of Saturday's 5-1 Bundesliga win over Cologne.

This is the third time in just a few weeks that he has been forced to stop playing, each time due to his left calf.

Neuer retired from international football a few weeks after Euro 2024 on home soil, but speculation had been growing of a possible return for the 2026 World Cup starting in less than a month.

According to German media, the 2014 World Cup winner is on an extended list of 55 names submitted to FIFA earlier this week, from which coach Julian Nagelsmann will select his final squad of 23 to 26 players, as well as potential last-minute injury replacements.

Nagelsmann is expected to announce his squad on Thursday in Frankfurt.

E.Aziz--SF-PST