Augsburg vs Bayern Munich - Holger Badstuber suffers broken ankle ahead of Bayern's trip
Posted Sunday, February 14, 2016 by PA
Holger Badstuber's injury woes return on Saturday when the Bayern Munich defender broke his ankle in training ahead of Sunday's Bundesliga trip to Augsburg.
The club announced the 26-year-old was taken to hospital for surgery and will be out for three months.
It is the latest in a catalogue of injuries which have plagued the Germany international's career over recent years.
A cruciate ligament tear in December 2012 forced him to spend the best part of two years on the sidelines and a tendon tear four months after his comeback ruled him out for another four months before he returned in January 2015.
Last April, a thigh muscle tear kept him out for a further six months and he only returned in November.
He had made just seven appearances in his latest comeback.
Badstuber's injury is a further blow for Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, who is already without Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez.
Medhi Benatia returned to training after injury on Saturday but he is not expected to be a candidate to face Augsburg, while Serdar Tasci, who was signed on transfer deadline day, has yet to start after being concussed in his first training session with the champions.
Bayern face Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League in 10 days' time with the prospect of having not one single fit central defender.
Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze could be back to face Augsburg, but Xabi Alonso is suspended.
Bayern still have work to do to retain their title, although they head into Sunday's clash five points clear of Borussia Dortmund.
"I know that we can lose games, but only if we are not ready," Guardiola said.
"The quality, the team, the coach, the stadium, the fans, the pitch - there is a lot going for Augsburg, so it's going to be pretty tough.
"We've still got to win a lot of points before we have defended our title."
Augsburg, meanwhile, have been reflecting on their remarkable rise ahead of a big week for the Bavarian club.
"In 2006, Augsburg faced Eschborn and Pfullendorf. In 2011, it was Cottbus and Oberhausen. This week, we have Bayern Munich and Liverpool," read a message to the club's Twitter followers on Friday.
It shows how far they have come in just under a decade, from the regional leagues of Bavarian football to facing the 25-time champions and then Liverpool in the Europa League.
"Nevertheless, we are still a small club and we still have to fight for all the points we can get to stay up," coach Markus Weinzierl said in the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
"It's like two extremes somehow colliding."
Even German chancellor Angela Merkel has chipped in on Augsburg's rise, telling British Prime Minister David Cameron at a recent meeting that it is "an amazing story".
Weinzierl, the architect of it, could not agree more.
"It really is a sensational story, what has happened here in the past four years," he said.
"I think it's unique for such a small German team to have played their way to the forefront of the international game.
"For sure I could never have even imagined such a story when I sat down to sign my contract with Augsburg."
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