Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich, unvaccinated and contaminated at the end of November with Covid-19, is out of quarantine but will not play again until 2022 due to physical sequelae, the German club announced on Thursday. “I am happy that my quarantine is over. I am doing very well, but I cannot yet train fully due to a slight damage to my lungs,” the 26-year-old said in a statement.
“So I’m going to be doing some fitness workout and can’t wait to be back full time in January,” he added.
The midfielder will miss the last three league matches scheduled for December, namely the receptions of Mainz (December 11) and Wolfsburg (December 17) and the trip to Stuttgart (December 14).
The Bavarian metronome’s last meeting with his club now dates back to November 6 against Freiburg.
A few days later, he was fired from the German selection for having been in contact with his teammate Niklas Süle, who was positive. He then missed the two meetings in November against Liechtenstein (9-0) and Armenia (4-1).
He had been placed in quarantine again on November 19 for having once again rubbed shoulders with a person positive for Covid-19 and then had himself tested positive.
Kimmich’s choice not to be vaccinated had sparked endless debates in Germany. The Minister of the Interior had even urged him to be vaccinated.
Many, in the press or among politicians, have accused him of sending a negative signal, in a country where the vaccination rate is insufficient (69.3% of people fully vaccinated).
Germany is currently hit by a new wave of contaminations. To deal with this, the new social democratic chancellor Olaf Scholz will ask parliament to vote on the vaccination obligation which, if approved, will come into force in February or March.
