Manuel Neuer setback leaves Jonas Urbig set to start for Bayern against Viking

Jonas Urbig is expected to replace Manuel Neuer in goal for Bayern Munich’s Champions League meeting with Viking FK on Tuesday after Neuer suffered a setback with a foot problem.

Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany said Neuer was unable to train before the squad’s trip to Norway, making it highly unlikely that the experienced goalkeeper will play.

“Manuel can’t train today. He’s felt something in his foot. So that quickly answers the question of who will be in goal tomorrow,” Kompany said at his pre-match press conference on Monday.

Neuer first felt the problem following Bayern’s 2-2 draw with Augsburg on Saturday. Although the club had initially hoped he would be fit enough to resume training, Kompany said there was no reason to risk aggravating the issue.

“We heard after the Augsburg game that he’d felt something. You never know how long it’ll take, but given he couldn’t train yesterday or today, it makes no sense to take any unnecessary risks,” he said.

Kompany was uncertain whether Neuer would travel with the squad, but made clear that the goalkeeper was very unlikely to be selected against Viking.

“I don’t want to call it an injury, but when you feel something and it doesn’t get better, at some point you realise we need to do something. We’ll do that by taking no risk if he doesn’t feel 100 percent,” Kompany added.

Urbig is now in line to make his third start of the season for the German champions. The young goalkeeper made 20 appearances last season after joining Bayern from Cologne and has continued to build experience with the club.

His progress has also taken him into the Germany senior team. Urbig recently made his international debut in a 2-0 win over Serbia, before playing in a goalless draw with Greece.

Kompany said the opportunities Urbig has received at Bayern have been central to his development.

“We started our process with Jonas when he arrived from Koln. We’re going according to plan. He’s got the minutes we wanted to give him for his development,” the Bayern manager said.

“He played in the cup final, in several Champions League games. The fact he’s now also playing for Germany is a result of that development. And every minute is good for his development.”

The match against Viking will give Urbig another chance to gain experience on the Champions League stage as Bayern continue their campaign without their usual first-choice goalkeeper.

Bayern will also be without Jamal Musiala, who remains sidelined by a thigh injury.