Boateng claims poor form due to injury, not lifestyle

Jerome Boateng has dismissed accusations made by Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge that his poor performances of late are due to his lavish lifestyle away from the pitch.

Instead, Boateng claims that his rocky start to the 2016-17 season is the result of an injury he has not fully recovered from after suffering a serious injury during the European Championship in France last summer.

The German international conceded that his most recent performance during Wednesday's loss to FC Rostov was poor, but said he is still not fully fit and has struggled to find his form after the injury forced him to miss a handful of Bayern's matches to open the season.

"I didn't play well," Boateng told Mark Lovell of ESPNFC. "Criticism of both the team's performance and mine is justified, but I'm not yet at 100 percent because of my injury at Euro 2016 which meant an interrupted preseason training."

He added: "It's not due to any PR or lifestyle obligations. Anyone who knows me will know that I always do everything to reach top form."

Boateng's remarks come a day after Rummenigge suggested the defender "comes back to earth a bit" as his commitments away from the pitch - which includes the launch of his own line of glasses - have affected him.

Despite appearing to suffer a thigh injury during the 3-2 loss to Rostov, Boateng may have a chance to feature Sunday against Bayer Leverkusen after Bayern confirmed that the injury is not serious.