Bayern Munich Injuries Pile Up in Telekom Cup Nightmare

Bayern count the cost as injuries pile up in brutal Telekom Cup outing

Pre-season friendlies are supposed to ease players in, not empty the treatment room. For Bayern Munich, the Telekom Cup meeting with RB Leipzig turned into exactly the kind of nightmare coaches dread a week before a new campaign.

What began as a routine tune-up became a war of attrition.

Konrad Laimer was the first casualty. Just 10 minutes into the match, the midfielder went into a challenge with David Raum and came off worse, forced off far earlier than planned. Any pre-season rhythm he hoped to build vanished with that one collision.

The pattern only darkened from there.

Min-jae Kim followed Laimer to the sidelines, departing during the second hydration break around the 66-minute mark. On a day when conditions were clearly demanding, Bayern lost the cornerstone of their defence before the final whistle even approached.

Then came the most alarming moment. Jamal Musiala, who had just delivered Bayern’s third goal, appeared to buckle under the heat only four minutes later. He almost needed a stretcher to leave the pitch, a jarring image for a player so central to Bayern’s attacking identity.

As if that wasn’t enough, Sacha Boey cramped up after the final whistle. The game was over. The damage wasn’t.

All four are first-team regulars. All four are central to what Bayern want to be under Vincent Kompany as the 2026/27 season looms. Instead of talking about tactical tweaks and new ideas, the new coach is left sifting through medical reports and contingency plans.

The timing could hardly be worse. The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup arrives next week, with another friendly against Heidenheim squeezed in before that. Bayern’s schedule offers no real pause, no soft landing.

Kompany now walks a tightrope: manage minutes, protect his stars, keep rhythm, and hope the setbacks from this bruising afternoon prove short-term rather than the first grim chapter of the season.