Bayern Munich and Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger has been ruled out until the new year. Schweinsteiger has undergone surgery after breaking his collar bone in Bayern Munich’s UEFA Champions League match against SSC Napoli on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old midfielder sustained the injury after landing awkwardly following a hefty aerial challenge from Napoli midfielder Gökhan Inler at the Allianz Arena.
“The fracture was successfully repaired and a plate inserted in an operation performed at around 2 am on Thursday morning by Prof. Imhoff, assisted by FCB chief medical officer Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt. Schweinsteiger will remain in hospital until Friday, and has been ordered to rest completely for two weeks after that,” the club said in an official release.
“The first step in his sports rehabilitation programme will be to resume jogging, before the player is cleared to resume training with the team in approximately six weeks,” the the club statement continued.
Schweinsteiger has been in an outstanding form recently and his absence will be a huge loss for Jupp Heynckes’ team.
Germany coach Joachim Löw will also miss the services of his influential midfielder in the upcoming matches in Germany’s preparations for the UEFA EURO 2012.
Indian football fans will be hoping for a speedy recovery of Schweinsteiger, as they prepare to see a full-strenght Bayern Munich team in action against the Indian national team in the “Baichung Bhutia Farewell Match” in January.