Bayern Munich's De Ligt nears comeback after knee injury

28 October 2023, Bavaria, Munich: Soccer: Bundesliga, Bayern Munich - Darmstadt 98, Matchday 9, Allianz Arena. Munich's Matthijs de Ligt gesticulates. Photo: Tom Weller/dpa - IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the requirements of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to use or have used photographs taken in the stadium and/or of the match in the form of sequence pictures and/or video-like photo series.
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MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich defender Mattijs de Ligt is nearing a comeback from the right knee injury which ruled him out for most of the last month, the club indicated Monday.

Bayern said the Netherlands center back was back on the field and "completed an individual session at the training ground on Monday morning."

De Ligt tore part of a knee ligament on Nov. 1 in Bayern's surprising 2-1 German Cup loss to third-division club Saarbrucken. That prompted concerns he could be a long-term absentee from a first-team squad which only includes two other central defenders, Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano.

Bayern has won all four of its games since then with Kim and Upamecano starting together at center back, including a 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund. Bayern plays Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday.

De Ligt's injury also ruled him out of the Netherlands' European Championship qualifying games against Ireland and Gibraltar.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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