Guardiola concerned by injuries in Bayern defence

Pep Guardiola revealed concerns over the state of his Bayern Munich backline, despite watching his side beat Hoffenheim 2-0 to re-open an eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

Two goals from Robert Lewandowski saw off the struggling visitors at the Allianz Arena, as Bayern maintained their 100 per cent home record for 2015-16, but afterwards Guardiola’s main focus was the number of casualties among his defensive options.

Javi Martinez, Jerome Boateng and Medhi Benatia are all injured and Guardiola admitted that he is troubled by the situation.

“Of course we have a problem. We have only a real centre-back in Holger Badstuber,” he said.

“Medhi Benatia needs two to three weeks until he is fully fit. Jerome Boateng is longer, Javi Martinez not quite as long.

“Joshua Kimmich showed today that he can play as a defender. He is fast, and heads the ball well.”

Guardiola joked that goalkeeper Manuel Neuer could also slot into his defence if necessary, but the Spaniard was thrilled by the performance of his fit players as they secured a sixth straight victory in all competitions.

“Once again, huge credit to my team. The players were superb,” he said. “I am very pleased with Arjen [Robben]. He is finally back.”