Thomas Muller will miss both legs of Bayern Munich’s Champions League round of 16 clash against Liverpool due to suspension, it has been confirmed.
Muller, the Germany attacker, was sent off in Bayern’s final group stage match for a high kick on Nicolas Tagliafico, the Ajax full-back.
Afterwards the 29-year-old said sorry via Twitter, writing: “‘I would like to apologise to Nico Tagliafico for yesterday’s incident. It was unintentional. Get well soon.”
Bayern appealed the decision, but UEFA have upheld the two match suspension.
Muller’s punishment means he will miss both legs of Bayern’s round of 16 match up against last season’s runners-up Liverpool, who finished second in their group behind Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern travel to Anfield for the first leg on February 19, with the return in Munich on March 13.
Liverpool have worries of their own heading into the match, however, with Joe Gomez, the defender, to miss out.
The Premier League club confirmed on Monday that Gomez will undergo surgery to aid his recovery from a leg fracture suffered in December.
Gomez was only expected to be out around six weeks, but he will not be sidelined for a much longer period, though the club believe he will return before the end of the season.
Liverpool and Bayern have met on seven previous occasions, with the Anfield club triumphing in the most recent encounter – the 2001 UEFA Super Cup.
The Reds have only one other victory over the Germans to their name, but they’ve also only lost one match – in 1971 – with four draws shared between the two sides.