Thiago Alcantara will return in "about one and a half months"

In December, we received one of the first updates on Thiago Alcantara since his most recent injury, and the news wasn't good. The "news" was that there was no news. All that Matthias Sammer had to say regarding Thiago (and Javi Martinez) was that, "I'm not going to offer an opinion. We'll give them all the time in the world, because all that matters is getting them fit again."

It's now a month later, and Xabi Alonso has let slip another update about Thiago's recovery. "I am in contact with him, and he's making progress," Alonso said during a fanclub visit. 'He is running again, but he still has about one and a half months to go. It's important that he's 100% again."

Another month and a half will put Thiago's return in the middle of March. Thiago's impending return is similar to that of Holger Badstuber last season, and the club should and will likely consider shutting him down completely for the entire season. Thiago will turn 24 later this season, and he remains under contract with FC Bayern through the summer of 2017. Bayern needs to allow him to heal 100% and come back completely healthy.