Injured Kim Min-jae to Miss Freiburg Match... Bayern: 'Not a Major Issue'

South Korean national football team defender Kim Min-jae (29, Bayern Munich) will miss a league match due to an injury.

Bayern Munich will play an away match against SC Freiburg for the 7th round of the 2026-2027 German Bundesliga at the Europa-Park Stadion in Freiburg at 1:30 a.m. on October 26 (Korea Standard Time).

Coach Aaron Danks announced Kim's absence during a press conference held on October 24 ahead of the match.

Attending the press conference in place of manager Vincent Kompany—who collapsed while leading team training on October 23 and is receiving hospital treatment—Coach Danks stated, "Kim Min-jae will not be able to play in this weekend's match against Freiburg," adding, "It is not a major issue, but we do not want to take any unnecessary risks."

Kim started in the home match against Arsenal (England) for the 3rd matchday of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) league phase (a 2-2 draw) held on October 22, but was substituted out for Jonathan Tah after playing only the first half.

At the time, German outlet Bild reported that the reason for Kim's substitution was due to issues in his groin area and knee.

After the match, manager Kompany did not specify the exact area of Kim's injury, saying, "I don't think it's a serious injury" and "It doesn't look like it will take long to recover. It might even take less than a week."

Kim's physical condition could also affect the national team call-up ahead of next month's two consecutive away matches in the Middle East.

Led by interim manager Robert Moreno (Spain), the national team will play successive friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Qatar in Doha, Qatar, on November 13 and 17.

Manager Moreno is scheduled to announce the roster of players participating in the friendly matches on October 29.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.