Hashemian ruled out of Tel Aviv trip

Fcbayern - Bayern travel to face Maccabi Tel Aviv in their Champions League opener on Wednesday evening without summer signing Vahid Hashemian after the Iran star was forced to pull out with a back injury. "He's been struggling since the Bielefeld match on Saturday and the pain's got worse," coach Felix Magath explained after Monday afternoon training.

The player sat out both Sunday and Monday training, reporting instead to the medical unit for intensive therapy. "We've tried to get him fit, but we've run out of time," media director Markus Hörwick informed fcbayern.de. Hashemian is now rated doubtful for Saturday's Bundesliga trip to Borussia Dortmund.

The 28 year-old Iranian was always a controversial choice for the match in Israel due to the tense and intractable political differences between the two countries. Hashemian, who returned to international duty with Iran for the first time in three years, would have been the first Iranian Moslem to visit Israel since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Magath announced on Sunday that the player had approached him and declared his willingness to undertake the trip. The club previously released the player from the obligation to appear.

Every cloud has a silver lining, and Hashemian's absence means a first squad appearance of the season for Claudio Pizarro. The Peru striker has recovered from a fractured skull and was cleared to resume the full training workout by the medical specialists at the end of last week, although his role on Wednesday is certain to be restricted to substitute due to a lack of match practice.