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Star forward Lennart Karl’s latest muscle injury has reportedly prompted serious concern within the FC Bayern Munich hierarchy, as the club grapples with a rising trend of fitness issues among its young players.

As reported by kicker, Bayern Munich’s management now considers the growing number of muscle injuries among academy graduates an “obvious problem”.

Karl, aged 18, had already missed close to a month towards the end of last season with a similar issue. Unfortunately, he suffered another muscle tear during training with the German national team shortly before the World Cup, ruling him out of the tournament to be held across the USA, Mexico, and Canada.

Several other young Bayern players near the first-team setup—including David Santos Daiber (out since mid-March), Guido Della Rovere, Maycon Cardozo, and Vincent Manuba—are also struggling with thigh-related injuries. According to kicker, the club no longer believes these repeated setbacks are coincidental.

Karl’s recent injury has made the situation “even more urgent” at Bayern, with the German giants now planning a comprehensive internal review to understand and prevent recurring muscular problems among their youth players.

The forward sustained his injury during the final training session before Germany’s last World Cup warm-up match. Having been ruled out of the competition, Karl returned to Munich immediately to begin rehabilitation under FC Bayern’s medical staff. “Missing a World Cup at such short notice is, of course, extremely painful, and the news came as a huge shock to everyone at FC Bayern,” said sporting director Max Eberl, expressing sympathy for the young talent.

The incident occurred on Friday during the German national team’s final training session before the friendly against co-hosts USA, which ended in a 2-1 win. National team coach Julian Nagelsmann stated that Karl is expected to be “out for four to six weeks, maybe a little longer.” RB Leipzig’s Nassan Ouedraogo has been called up as his replacement.

Following the disappointment, Karl shared his emotions on social media, writing that he was “heartbroken” to miss the biggest football tournament of his life. He had impressed in Germany’s 4-0 friendly victory over Finland in late May, putting him in strong contention for a starting place. With Karl sidelined, Leroy Sané is now expected to take his position in the attacking lineup.

Ouedraogo’s late inclusion restores Germany’s World Cup squad to full strength.

Germany 2026 World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers
Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim) – Shirt No. 12
Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern Munich) – Shirt No. 1
Alexander Nübel (VfB Stuttgart) – Shirt No. 21

Defenders
Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund) – No. 3
Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt) – No. 18
Pascal Groß (Brighton & Hove Albion) – No. 13
Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern Munich) – No. 6
Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund) – No. 23
Aleksandar Pavlovic (FC Bayern Munich) – No. 5
David Raum (RB Leipzig) – No. 22
Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid) – No. 2
Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund) – No. 15
Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart) – No. 16
Jonathan Tah (FC Bayern Munich) – No. 4
Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United) – No. 24

Midfielders / Forwards
Nadiem Amiri (Mainz 05) – No. 20
Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund) – No. 14
Leon Goretzka (FC Bayern Munich) – No. 8
Kai Havertz (Arsenal) – No. 7
Assan Ouedraogo (RB Leipzig) – No. 25
Jamie Leweling (VfB Stuttgart) – No. 9
Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern Munich) – No. 10
Leroy Sané (Galatasaray Istanbul) – No. 19
Deniz Undav (VfB Stuttgart) – No. 26
Florian Wirtz (Liverpool FC) – No. 17
Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United) – No. 11