Julian Nagelsmann said Bayern Munich won t take any chances with Robert Lewandowski s fitness when they face Freiburg on Saturday, with the striker nursing a rib injury.
The Bayern boss offered a promising update on Leon Goretzka s fitness, saying he would love to let the midfielder play, but could be left without Joshua Kimmich due to the imminent birth of his child.
Lewandowski netted a second-half penalty to set Poland on their way to World Cup qualification on Tuesday, opening the scoring in a 2-0 play-off win over Sweden.
The 33-year-old s last club outing saw him net twice against Union Berlin to reach 30 Bundesliga goals for a fifth time, a feat only previously achieved by the legendary Gerd Muller.
Ahead of the trip to fifth-placed Freiburg, Nagelsmann said that while Lewandowski is in the squad and in contention to feature, the club would act with caution after he picked up a rib injury.
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We ll have to see how his rib reacts, Nagelsmann said.
I assume he s in the squad and playing, but we won t take any chances.
If Lewandowski is deemed fit enough to feature, he could set an outright record for the most away goals scored in a single Bundesliga campaign.
His current tally of 17 is a joint single-season record, shared with Jupp Heynckes (set in 1973-74 as a Borussia Monchengladbach player), and Timo Werner (2019-20 with RB Leipzig).
Meanwhile, Nagelsmann offered updates on the availability of two key midfielders, indicating that Goretzka is in line for his first appearance since December s 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund.
He also revealed he has set a deadline for Kimmich to join up with the team as he awaits his child s birth.
Goretzka reacted a bit on the hip, [but] otherwise he trained exceptionally well, and I would love to let him play, Nagelsmann added.
I discussed with him [Kimmich] that if everything stays calm, he can travel later. We have set a deadline. The most important thing is that everyone stays fit.
We have a good squad and we have to control the players workloads. At the same time, we need to keep our foot on the gas.
Bayern s tally of 81 goals from their 27 Bundesliga games is the best return at this stage of a season in the competition s history. Meanwhile, the perennial champions have scored in 74 consecutive Bundesliga matches, also a German top-flight record.
