Wirtz set for spell on sidelines | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen confirm Florian Wirtz ankle injury ahead of Bayern Munich showdown

Florian Wirtz hobbled off injured in Bayer Leverkusen's 2-0 defeat to Werder Bremen, and the Germany international is now set to miss the next few weeks, including Tuesday's UEFA Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich.

With Leverkusen trailing 1-0, Wirtz was brought on as a half-time substitute but went down under a heavy challenge from Mitchell Weiser and was swiftly replaced by Alejandro Grimaldo.

Leverkusen went on to suffer a 2-0 loss and miss out on the chance to close the gap on Bayern, who also suffered defeat.

The Bundesliga's top-two now meet in midweek to settle their Champions League last-16 tie, but Die Werkself boss Xabi Alonso will now have to do without his creator-in-chief after Wirtz left the stadium on crutches.

"Florian's absence is obviously a big blow to us at this stage of the season, but we'll make up for him with a good team," said managing director for sports Simon Rolfes after the club confirmed on Monday that Wirtz had siffered ligament damage in his right ankle and would be out for several weeks.

"We know Florian and know that we'll come back as quickly as possible. We'll all support him there. We assume he'll be back top fit for the season's run-in."

After Tuesday's second leg, the Bundesliga champions visit last season's runners-up VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. After the international break, they resume at home to Bochum before a DFB Cup semi-final at Arminia Bielefeld. They then have seven Bundesliga games remaining.

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