Bayern Munich have been suffering a lot in terms of injuries over the last few weeks and this has culminated into manager Pep Guardiola having only 16 fit players for the upcoming match against Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB Pokal quarter-final clash.

The matches played away from home and this only compounds the misery for Bayern, who remain in hunt for three major honours this season. A quarter-final clash against Porto in the Champions League is not too far away and Guardiola was always not going to risk his players for this match. Bayern have been developing a strong tradition in this tournament after having won it in the last two seasons.

Guardiola will be aiming for a third consecutive success but his team will have to do without a number of regular stars like Schweinsteiger. Top individuals like Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, and Javi Martinez are some of the players currently unavailable. This means that Guardiola will have to rely upon names like Mario Gotze. The former Borussia Dortmund star was only on the bench when Bayern Munich took on his former club during the weekend. A 1-0 success for Bayern kept their wonderful run in the league going. They have a 10 point advantage over Wolfsburg.

“Schweinsteiger will not be match fit in time.We only have 16 players available for Wednesday’s game. But this is part of the game. It’s my job to find a solution.HolgerBadstuber is doubtful. I think he can train normally again and we will then have to wait and see how his body reacts.We are not looking for excuses, though. It will be a huge challenge for Bayern. I know that it was a sad moment for Gotze that he did not start against Dortmund. He is a great guy, though. Football is his life,” said Guardiola.