Bayern Arrive Banged Up for Champions League Clash with Arsenal: Kimmich Out for Family Bereavement, Kompany Battling Virus

Bayern Munich head into the biggest match of the league phase dealing with two absences that have nothing to do with muscle injuries or tactical decisions. The toughest news concerns Joshua Kimmich, who will not be available to face Arsenal for a reason that puts any scoreline in perspective.

The Bavarian club confirmed that its captain will miss the Champions League match against the Premier League champions, scheduled for this Wednesday in Munich, following a death in his immediate family. The club was clear in asking that the player's grief be respected:

Due to a death in his immediate family, Joshua Kimmich is not in the squad today for the match against Arsenal. On behalf of the family, we ask that his privacy and his grief be respected, and that people refrain from further questions or reporting. With deep sorrow, all of FC Bayern stands by Joshua Kimmich.FC Bayern Munich

It is an emotional blow for a locker room that needed its captain for a fixture of this magnitude, though the club has made clear that something else matters far more right now. No one in Munich is going to push for further details.

The Kompany Question Mark

As if that weren't enough, the Bavarian bench could also be without its coach. Vincent Kompany is dealing with a viral infection that has directly affected his legs, and on Tuesday he spent the day at home instead of running training. It was his assistant, Aaron Danks, who took the microphone at the pre-match press conference to explain the situation.

Danks was candid about his manager's condition and about how hard it is to convince him to slow down:

It's affected his legs at times and he's felt some pain. It's just a virus. The doctors, the experts, know a lot more than I do. The main thing we've stressed to him is to rest, to take whatever time he needs, however long that is. I don't know right now if it'll be tomorrow or if it'll be two or three days. Getting Vince to rest is quite the challenge.Aaron Danks

That last line sums up Kompany's profile pretty well: a coach who is hard to pull away from the team's day to day even when his body is telling him to stop. For now there's no certainty over whether he will be on the bench Wednesday or whether Danks will have to take on that responsibility from the touchline as well.

Bayern host Arsenal in matchday three of the Champions League league phase against this backdrop. Beyond lineups and systems, the club has chosen to focus on standing by Kimmich in a moment that is, by definition, far bigger than any result on the field.