Robert Lewandowski scored two goals for Poland on Sunday, as his national team beat Andorra 3-0 in the qualifiers for World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Panic started when Lewandowski was taken off 63 minutes into the game with massive pain in his right knee.
Fears of a serious injury were confirmed on Tuesday by Lewandowski’s club, Bayern Munich. The in-form striker has already left his National team setup. He’s not part of coach Paulo Sousa’s plans for Poland’s visit to the iconic Wembley Stadium on Wednesday for the clash against England.
Bayern, who won the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the European Supercup, and the league and Cup at the domestic level, are hungry for more. They’ll have to pull through without Lewandowski, who already started treatment in Germany.
Out for (at least) three crucial games
A statement from Bayern revealed on Tuesday that the striker has a knee ligament injury that will keep him on the sidelines for a month.
“Robert Lewandowski has strained a ligament in his right knee,” Bayern announced. “He returned early to Munich, where a diagnosis was made by the German record champions’ medical team.”
Lewandowski will not play on Saturday for league leaders Bayern in the very complicated away game at second-placed RB Leipzig. He also won’t be able to feature in any of the two legs of the Champions League quarterfinals, against French giants Paris Saint-Germain. In case Bayern qualifies for the semifinals, Lewy is expected to miss (at least) the first leg. The winner of Bayern vs PSG will play either Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund next on April 27 or 28 (first leg), or May 4 or 5 May (second leg).
Lewy unstoppable before injury
Opponent defenders will breathe fresh air without Lewandowski to haunt them. The 32-year-old was on the form of his life before his injury. The Polish goal machine was awarded “The Best” trophy for 2020, a distinction created by FIFA (football’s world governing body) to reward the best player on the planet. Lewandowski was the hot favorite to win the France Football Ballon d’Or too, but the renowned French magazine decided not to award it in 2020 because of the pandemic. Lewandowski didn’t stop scoring. He made room to add the Ballon – the most revered individual trophy in world football – to his CV this year.
Right now, Lewandowski is Europe’s most prolific player. He’s already scored 35 goals for Bayern in the Bundesliga, the German top tier. In comparison, Messi and Ronaldo have 23 goals each for Barcelona in La Liga and Juventus in Serie A, respectively. In the Champions League, the Warsaw native has scored another five goals in six games. Lewandowski is also in the chase for beating Gerd Muller’s historical record of 40 goals scored in the 1971-1972 season.
Lewandowski is looking to quickly return to his best form and compete for another Champions League trophy with Bayern. The last campaign’s winners are on +500 for repeating their success in 2021.
After the season’s conclusion, Lewy is supposed to go to the European Championship with the Polish National team. Currently, Lewandowski is at a huge +2600 for becoming the top goalscorer of the tournament.