Neuer criticises Donnarumma over Musiala injury
Jamal Musiala is expected to miss at least four months with a fractured fibula, and Manuel Neuer feels Gianluigi Donnarumma is to blame.
Manuel Neuer believes Gianluigi Donnarumma's "risky" challenge was responsible for the serious injury suffered by Jamal Musiala during Bayern Munich's defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern's Club World Cup campaign ended at the quarter-final stage on Saturday as Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele scored in a 2-0 win for PSG, who had Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez sent off late on.
But the game was overshadowed by Musiala suffering a serious injury to his lower left leg on the stroke of half-time, following a collision with Donnarumma.
Donnarumma attempted to dive on a loose ball ahead of Musiala near the byline, catching the Germany international with his follow-through and causing him to be carried off.
While Bayern boss Vincent Kompany was unable to offer an update on the severity of the injury after full-time, reports on Sunday suggested Musiala had fractured his fibula and would be sidelined for at least four months.
Donnarumma appeared to be in distress as the teams exited the pitch at half-time, but Neuer believes the Italian must accept responsibility for the incident.
"It's a situation where you don't have to go in like that," Neuer said, as quoted by Sky Sports Germany. "That's risky. He's willing to accept the risk of injuring his opponent.
"I went up to him and said, 'Don't you want to go over to our player?' It's only right to go over and wish the guy well.
"He did that in the end. Fairness is always important. I would have reacted differently."
After the game, Donnarumma posted an image of himself looking upset by the incident on Instagram, alongside the caption: "All my prayers and well wishes are with you."
Another goalkeeper has leapt to Donnarumma's defence, however, with Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois pointing out that innocuous collisions can still result in injuries.
"Blaming Donnarumma seems excessive to me. Goalkeepers will go for the ball. Attackers don't hold back when they come towards us either," Courtois said after Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in Saturday's other quarter-final.
"It's a stroke of bad luck. It hurts [Neuer] more because it is his team-mate, but Donnarumma isn't responsible."
Courtois and Donnarumma will go head-to-head for a place in the Club World Cup final on Wednesday, as Madrid face PSG at MetLife Stadium.
