31.10.2018 14:37 h

Bayern star Alcantara sidelined for 'weeks' by ankle injury

Bayern Munich expect to be without Thiago Alcantara for "a few weeks" -- including their Bundesliga showdown at Borussia Dortmund -- after the Spain midfielder injured his ankle in a narrow German Cup win.

Bayern confirmed Wednesday that Thiago torn the outer ligament in his right ankle in a 2-1 win at fourth-tier Roedinghausen in the second round of the German Cup, which saw him carried off late in the game.

Thiago was one of the few Bayern stars in good form and his loss is a blow ahead of the Bundesliga showdown at leaders Dortmund in ten days which is shaping up to be a top-of-the-table clash.

With Bayern second in the German league table, sports director Hasan Salihamidzic has already said the loss of Thiago is bad "as he really matters to the team".

Head coach Niko Kovac is already without long-term injured French pair Kingsley Coman, who tore ankle ligaments in August, and Corentin Tolisso, who damaged knee ligaments in September.

Bayern have won their last four games, but looked jaded in recent weeks and the loss of Thiago is another blow after the team laboured in Osnabrueck against Roedinghausen's part-timers on Tuesday.

Bayern were 2-0 up inside 13 minutes as Sandro Wagner scored an early goal and Thomas Mueller converted a penalty, but lost their way after Renato Sanches fired a spot-kick off the woodwork after 23 minutes.

"We are through, but as we all saw, every (Bayern) player has to give it some thought - this isn't just our right (to reach the third round)," fumed Mueller.

Roedinghausen pulled a goal back just after the break and had chances to equalise against the reigning Bundesliga champions.

"We're a round further in the competition, which is always what you want and we played well up until the second penalty," said Kovac.

"After we missed that, the wind went out of our sails and we didn't play as well as I had imagined we would."

Bayern host mid-table Freiburg at the Allianz Arena on Saturday in the Bundesliga, then AEK Athens in the Champions League next Wednesday, having already beaten the reigning Greek champions 2-0 in Athens a fortnight ago, before the crunch showdown on November 10 at Dortmund.