Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman will miss the opening weeks of the new Bundesliga season after damaging ankle ligaments on Wednesday, with the club confirming he will be out ‘until further notice’.

Bayern have given no fixed time for how long the French international forward is expected to be out, but some German media outlets expect him to miss at least the next eight weeks.

“He was lying there and was obviously in pain, which is never a good sign,” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm told Sky.

Coman injured his left ankle while challenging for the ball with Bayern’s Spain defender Javi Martinez at the club’s training ground.

“I don’t know if there was contact with him (Martinez) or if he just landed awkwardly, but it didn’t sound good in any case,” added Lahm.

Bayern play Carl Zeiss Jena in the first round of the German Cup on Friday, then host Werder Bremen in the first Bundesliga match of the season on Friday, August 26.

Coman is also set to miss France’s friendly against Italy in Bari on September 1 and their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier away to Belarus on September 6.

Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti will already be without injured stars Arjen Robben, Jerome Boateng, Douglas Costa and Renato Sanches for the trip to Jena.

Spain internationals Xabi Alonso and Thiago Alcantara both sat out training on Wednesday with knocks suffered in Sunday’s 2-0 win at Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup.