Kimmich injury overshadows Bayern's win at Dortmund
Bayern Munich face an anxious wait to discover the severity of Joshua Kimmich's knee injury which cast a shadow over their 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday which sent them top of the Bundesliga.
The Germany midfielder, who has been around great form recently, was helped off in apparent distress after twisting his knee in a first-half challenge.
"He'll fly home with us and become examined - it's prematurily . to state the extent of the injury," said grim-faced Bayern coach Hansi Flick.
Kimmich is also a concern for Germany prior to the friendly against the Czech Republic on Wednesday before Nations League games against Spain and then Ukraine in the following six days.
Bayern earned their fourth straight make an impression on Dortmund as Robert Lewandowski scored his 11th goal in only six league games.
After Marco Reus gave Dortmund the lead, David Alaba blasted home a free-kick to create it 1-1 at the break before Lewandowski struck with a outstanding header early in the next half.
Lewandowski, the European player of the entire year, could have finished with a hat-trick following the VAR eliminated further efforts either side of half-time.
Leroy Sane came off the bench to seize Bayern's third 10 minutes before the final whistle while Erling Braut Haaland scored Dortmund's late second goal.
However, Flick admitted the potential lack of midfield dynamo Kimmich will be a blow for the European champions.
"He's an essential player for all of us and with his mentality, he isn't someone you can replace like for like," said Flick.
The Bayern boss was happy with the win which left his side two points clear of second-placed RB Leipzig. Dortmund are actually third, three points behind Munich.
"There have been many, many chances to score on both sides," enthused Flick.
"Ultimately we were a bit more determined, that's why I think the victory was a lot more than deserved.
"Dortmund were dangerous whenever we made mistakes, which we must eliminate."
Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre said it had been "hard to simply accept" conceding three goals in the home to Bayern.
"All in all, we must be positive, we did an excellent job - we'd so many chances to score," lamented the Swiss.
Haaland was annoyed at his own performance after converting one of is own four chances.
"I must score more goals, if we don't put our chances away as of this level, then we won't win," said the 20-year-old.
"They will be the best team on the globe, but we need to work harder to take the next phase to be as effective as them."
