Müller-Wohlfahrt: That’s why Bayern have so many injured players | OneFootball

FC Bayern’s injury plight is taking on record-breaking proportions this season. Medical legend Dr Müller-Wohlfahrt now names the reasons and defends coach Thomas Tuchel.

The record champions have already suffered 24 muscle injuries this season alone. Thomas Tuchel has almost never had the full squad at his disposal this season. Most recently, Serge Gnabry (torn muscle fibre in his thigh) and Kingsley Coman (adductor injury), who had only just returned from lengthy injury breaks, were among those affected.

The high number of absentees is causing headaches for FCB and the possible causes have been discussed for some time. Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, a true expert in this field, has now commented on the reasons for the many injuries. It is certainly not Thomas Tuchel’s fault, the long-serving FC Bayern team doctor clarified.

„It’s not the coach’s fault. Thomas Tuchel has a very good reputation when it comes to training and load management. He is the one who suffers, he has to reshape the team again and again. That is an enormous weakening for a club,“ said Müller-Wohlfahrt in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

In his opinion, the causes are of a general nature. „Modern sports medicine is not at a standstill, but is regressing,“ criticised the 81-year-old: „I see a fundamental problem in professional football. In the Bundesliga, but also in the English, Spanish, Italian and French leagues.“

Müller-Wohlfahrt criticises his successors

Müller-Wohlfahrt was Bayern’s team doctor from 1977 to 2015 and 2017 to 2020. He was once described as having „magic hands and fingers“ due to his outstanding skills. A skill that he misses in his successors. „The MRI technique. It is given far too much importance. The belief in it has become far too great. The ability to diagnose with your hands is being lost. The clubs and coaches are the victims of this development,“ explained the FCB legend.

A sports physician should be able to feel an injury immediately, emphasised Müller-Wohlfahrt, „especially at Bundesliga level. Every sports doctor should be able to make a diagnosis on the pitch or in the dressing room at the latest.“ However, many mistakes are made: „Today, diagnoses are made too late and often not correctly.“

Müller-Wohlfahrt went into further detail: „Doctors often don’t manually check or compare the MRI diagnoses. As a result, the diagnoses are often incorrect. The language of the muscle is heard far too little. Technology cannot replace hands. It never will be able to.“

The hybrid turf in the Allianz Arena and at Säbener Straße has often been cited as the reason for the many injuries, most recently by former TV commentator Marcel Reif. For Müller-Wohlfahrt, however, the surface can be ruled out as the cause: „A very clear no! Such turf is standard today. We already had a similar one under Pep Guardiola. It was even changed, but it wasn’t to blame for the injuries back then.“

According to Müller-Wohlfahrt, the injury plight also contributed to Bayern missing out on the championship this season. The season „would have gone differently with fewer injuries, you can certainly say that. It’s unacceptable for the coach to constantly have to replace regular players. And can’t do anything about it himself.“