If you'd forgotten that Holger Badstuber was due to return sometime this summer you'd be forgiven. Considering that he's been riding the Injury Express straight to nowhere for the last three years, there's not much of an expectation for the German international every time he comes back from yet another catastrophic injury.
Two ACL tears over two seasons? Check. Two thigh tears last season? Check. Holger Badstuber's missed the better part of three years and yet when he returned to the Bayern Munich lineup consistently last January , he cemented himself alongside Jerome Boateng as one of the best defenders on this team. Then you know, he tore a thigh muscle in the Champions League win over Porto --remember that amazing game? -- and that was the end of yet another season.
With an original return date set at 3-4 months, there was some hope that Badstuber might be returning to the first team about now in the ramp up to the beginning of the season. Unfortunately Karl-Heinz Rummenigge squashed that hope today when he informed Kicker's print edition that Badstuber would be returning to Bayern Munich first team in late August. The good news? Rummenigge said he's right on track with their pre-determined rehabilitation plan.
The bad news? Badstuber still hasn't received a waiver to play soccer in a bubble suit.