Soccer Football - Champions League - Bayern Munich v Paris St Germain - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - November 26, 2024 Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany reacts REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/ File Photo
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Bayern Munich have enough talented players to replace injured striker Harry Kane, starting on Tuesday with their German Cup round of 16 tie against holders Bayer Leverkusen, coach Vincent Kompany.
The England captain, who has netted 20 goals across all competitions this season and leads the Bundesliga scorers' list with 14, suffered a thigh muscle injury in Saturday's 1-1 league draw at Borussia Dortmund.
Kane is expected to be out for a couple of weeks but Kompany said he hoped he could still return to action before the winter break starts on Dec. 22. Bayern are top of the Bundesliga with a four-point lead over Eintracht Frankfurt.
"It is difficult to say at this moment but there is a chance for him to still play this year," Kompany told a press conference on Monday.
"But he will miss several games and to replace him, you know you cannot replace the goals or the player one-for-one. That's why he is a top player."
Kompany said players like Thomas Mueller, Serge Gnabry, Michael Olise and Leroy Sane had enough experience to fill the gap.
"We have talent in the team and need to solve it differently. We won't be lacking talent tomorrow but it will look different," Kompany said.
"We have many options. Thomas Mueller, Mathys Tel, Gnabry, Olise, Leroy. I now named almost everyone. Obviously, Harry has scored 20 goals... but we have dangerous players in attack."
Bayern last won the German Cup in 2020 and have failed to get past the quarter-finals since, losing in the second round in three of the past four seasons.
"We play the Cup holders tomorrow. One of the top two or three games in Germany, and I hope our performance will match the importance of the game," Kompany said.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)
