Holger Badstuber, who went down for the season with a torn ACL back in December, won't be able to return to the field for the beginning of Bayern Munich's season this coming August. During his rehabilitation, Badstuber suffered a re-rupture of his surgically repaired ACL and will require another surgery to repair it. He's expected to face a further six months on the sidelines and will have likely missed more than a year of action before he returns.
Holger Badstuber re-ruptures surgically repaired ACL
Bayern Munich and Germany central defender Holger Badstuber faces another six months on the sidelines after re-injuring the ACL he tore in December.
Lennart Preiss
Badstuber was an automatic starter for Bayern Munich before his knee injury and his ability to play left back or in the center of defense led to him picking up 30 Germany caps at just 23 years of age. Veteran central defender Daniel van Buyten has done well in Badstuber's absence, but the Bavarians certainly won't want to stick with the 35-year-old long term.
This news could alter Bayern Munich's summer transfer plans. Van Buyten doesn't have much time left playing at the highest level, while Jerome Boateng isn't more than a solid backup for a team with Bayern's aspirations. Pep Guardiola is expected to have plenty of money to spend on new players, so Badstuber is likely to face a fight for his job against a new acquisition when he returns from injury.
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