Leverkusen confirm loss of Mukiele through international break

Forced off with injury in just his second league start of the campaign on Friday evening, Nordi Mukiele will not be returning to the Leverkusen squad for several weeks. On Saturday, the defending Bundesliga champions confirmed that the 27-year-old suffered a muscle injury in his left thigh and shall remained sidelined through the coming international break. 

In all, Mukiele has made three starts for Leverkusen across all competitions in the current campaign. The former long-time Leipzig man - brought in to replace loaned-out central defender Odilon Kossounou this past summer - has gotten off to something of a slow start, but still counted as an important option for head-coach Xabi Alonso's somewhat unbalanced roster. 

With central defender Jeanuel Belocian also sidelined, Xabi only has three natural central defenders (Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba, and Piero Hincapie)to call upon. Moreover, Mukiele and Belocian also served as wingback options on a squad in which Alonso already found himself going with makeshift options to give Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldi some relief.

Tapsoba - due in large part to a tactical slant shift - has encountered difficulty defending against fast and agile dribblers on the wing thus far this year. Midfielder Robert Andrich - whenever called upon to work in central defense - hasn't been nearly as strong this season as he was in the previous campaign. Leverkusen face Liverpool in the Champions' League and Bochum in the Bundesliga before the break.