SEOUL, March 17, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - South Korea's coach on Monday hit out at Bayern Munich over their handling of Kim Min-jae after the defensive stalwart was ruled out of crunch World Cup qualifiers with an Achilles tendon injury.

The 28-year-old centre-back missed Bayern's 1-1 draw at Union Berlin on Saturday and is also out of South Korea's 2026 qualifiers against Oman and Jordan.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said last week that Kim will be out for "several weeks".

Speaking ahead of the home game against Oman on Thursday, South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said that "Munich failed to properly protect him in terms of injury prevention".

"Kim Min-jae is an extremely important player not only for his club Bayern Munich but also for our national team," Hong told reporters according to Yonhap news agency.

"Just because a match is important doesn't mean it's right to have Kim on the pitch," he added.

Hong said there had been "continuous signs" since last year that Kim was struggling with injury.

"We were fully aware of that," he said.

Victories against Oman and again at home to Jordan on Tuesday next week will send South Korea to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Kim is an ever-present for his country with 69 caps.

He moved to Bayern from then Italian champions Napoli in the summer of 2023 and has gone on to make 73 appearances for the German giants in all competitions.