After Neuer undergoes surgery, Ulreich starts for Bayern

Bayern Munich confirmed on Friday that Sven Ulreich would start against Bochum this weekend as first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has undergone knee surgery.

Ulreich missed training on Wednesday with a suspected case of Covid-19 but tested negative later in the day. 

He is one of the few Bayern players not to have caught the virus during the pandemic.

Meanwhile the club said Neuer would be out for “a few weeks”. 

That means Neuer will miss not only Saturday’s game but Wednesday’s Champions League round of 16 first leg match in Salzburg. 

The return leg is on March 8.

Against Bochum, coach Julian Nagelsmann will also be without Leon Goretzka, who has a knee injury, Jamal Musiala who has tested positive for coronavirus and Alphonso Davies who is recovering from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, after a bout of Covid-19. 

Bayern hold a nine-point lead over Dortmund in the Bundesliga and beat and beat mid-table Bochum 7-0 at home in September.

“You prepare for a possible appearance every week, so you’re ready when the time comes. It’s definitely a good thing I played a few weeks ago. I’m ready for the game,” Ulreich told the Bayern website on Friday.

Ulreich replaced Neuer against Monchengladbach on January 7, a match Bayern lost 2-1 at home, one of their three league losses this season. 

Ulreich, 33, arrived in Bavaria from Stuttgart in 2015 and has found himself permanently in the number two role apart from the 2017-2018 season when he started 29 matches after Neuer was injured before the World Cup in Russia.  

Ulreich spent last season on loan at Hamburg in the second division but chose to return to Bayern this season.