Xavier Alonso remains confident in Leverkusen’s potential despite the absence of Florian Wirtz, who is out for several weeks with a right ankle injury.
Leverkusen coach Xavier Alonso has revealed that Florian Wirtz will be out for several weeks after the 21-year-old midfielder injured his right ankle in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Werder Bremen, ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 second-leg clash with Bayern Munich.
“I feel sorry for Flo, but now it’s a good moment to show that we are a complete team, even without Flo,” Alonso said.
Asked if the absence of Wirtz แทงบอล UFABET ราคาดีที่สุด ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ would be an added boost, Alonso replied: ‘Yes, it helps. It helps a lot. Tomorrow will be the best moment for sure.’
Wirtz, who has scored nine league goals this campaign and set up another 10, has also netted another six times in the Champions League,
He will also miss Germany’s Nations League quarter-final tie against Italy on March 20 and March 23 and is unlikely to return for the DFB-Pokal semi-finals against Arminia Bielefeld on April 1.
While overturning a 3-0 deficit against Bayern is a huge challenge, Alonso says Leverkusen must go into Tuesday’s game with self-belief.
“The first thing we have to do is to believe, and for the fans to also believe from the first second that we can do it,” the Spaniard said.
“It is a game of another dimension. We must play with heart, passion and brain. We have a chance and must fight until the end.
“But with a big situation you can also achieve something epic. The injury could also be a boost, to say we fight for the big game but also for Flo.”
“The team is convinced we can do it for many reasons but one is that we are in a position where we have nothing to lose. All Bayern fans believe they will go through.”
Meanwhile, captain and defender Jonathan Tah, who joined the press conference, added: ‘It’s a big test for us. We can prove that we are a team that can handle it. We will play for him.’