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To say FC Bayern has been bitten by the injury bug in the 2014-15 season is a huge understatement. Maybe bitten by the injury great white shark would be more appropriate. Already dealing with the long term absences of Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez, and Bastian Schweinsteiger, and the recent continuation of bad luck for Holger Badstuber (not to mention all the other players like Rafinha and Mitchell Weiser who are still out of action), it looked like Pep Guardiola was set to welcome back one of his creative stars, Franck Ribery.
After coming on in the second half, scoring an insurance goal to make it 2-0 against Stuttgart, and almost tallying another one (only to have it cleared off the line), the Frenchman looked poised to play a significant role as the German champions are set to face off against the English title holders, Manchester City in Munich tomorrow. And, reports that Arjen Robben may not be available made Ribery's return that much more crucial.
The football gods decided differently. As reported in today's press conference, Ribery had to visit Dr.Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt in his Munich practice on Monday evening, complaining of pain in his left knee, and has been ruled out of the CL group stage opening match. There has been no long term prognosis, so there is hope that this is a minor setback, instead of a more serious relapse.
On the bright side, it was revealed that Arjen Robben fully participated in the final practice, and appears to be available for duty. Whether that translates to getting a start, or coming off the bench remains to be seen.