Bayern Munich will only have two goalkeepers at their disposal on Saturday against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Thanks to a red card received during Bayern’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend, Tom Starke will be unavailable for selection on Saturday.

Starke was sent off against Frankfurt for inserting himself during a spat between Renato Sanches and several Frankfurt players. The referee showed the big German a red card for leaving the bench and getting involved, and the DFB announced the one match suspension on Tuesday.

As pointed out in the match observations from the weekend, Starke jumping in to Sanches’s defense probably meant more to the young Portuguese star that we can imagine.

Moving to a new country with new people and a new language is hard for anyone, and twice as hard if you’re only 19 years old. So when Renato Sanches got into an altercation today with Frankfurt goal scorer Szabolcs Husztis, it was great to see Tom Starke come to the defense of Portugese almost immediately. Starke was sent off for his action, and while it may be very incosequential to Bayern, it was probably significant for Sanches. The 19-year-old hasn’t exactly gotten off to the best start, with an injury and some poor performances early on causing many people to recognize the need to bring the youngster along slowly. In a sea of unfamiliarity, not being able to do the one thing he knew how to do so well was likely especially hard for him mentally. Just knowing his teammates have his back likely means a great deal to him.

Yes, Starke is only the third goalkeeper, and it really won’t matter that he’s suspended. Manuel Neuer will start against Gladbach, and Sven Ulreich will continue to be his backup. Barring two dramatic injuries, Starke’s suspension won’t impact Bayern on the field at all.