When Alphonso Davies went down early in Bayern Munich’s 5-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt, it was clear that the 19-year-old phenomenon was in a lot of pain and that his injury would likely put him out of action for a while.
It turns out Davies is expected to be out for six to eight weeks with an ankle ligament injury, which is why manager Hansi Flick has been considering his options for the left-back.
In a report by Sport1, Flick commented on a few different opportunities for the club as Davies recovers:
- Lucas Hernandez: The obvious choice is that Hernandez can seamlessly take on a position where he has been the starter for most of the season. “He’s playing the full-back position very well,” said Flick. “He brings us a certain quality, also in the game against the ball. I’m very satisfied. In the final stages of last season he showed where he was and where his strengths lie. He’s showing them right at the start of this season. “
- David Alaba:: Alaba, who was a former left-back prior to joining center-back, has a long and successful history on the defensive left flank. Alaba is able to bomb the field offensively and at enough pace to be able to effectively backtrack and can easily switch to left-back if necessary.
There would be a couple of longshots from there, but Flick didn’t sound too resilient to use at least one of them:
- Remy Vita: Vita came to Bayern Munich a few weeks ago and is currently playing for Bayern Munich II in the 3rd division. On Sunday Vita scored his first goal for the club in the U-23’s 2-0 victory over Waldhof Mannheim. “We also have a U-23 and we have to see if we have a player with us who can help us in this position from time to time,” said Flick from Vita.
- Alexander Lungwitz: As a 20-year-old from Munich, Lungwitz’s immediate future at Bayern Munich II could be doubtful as Vita is likely to take on this role. It seems that every step to use Lungwitz would only be a deep reserve so that Vita can settle in at Bayern Munich II.
Before the injury, Davies was curiously spending a lot of time on the bench. Some have theorized that Flick was in charge of load management with his young star, but none of that will matter now. The most important thing for Davies, however, is just to rest, relax, and look forward to a return by 2021.
At this point, Bayern Munich have more than enough depth of organization to deal with an injury to a key player, especially the left-back.
