Broken and battered, Renato Sanches returns to Munich for treatment

There is still no end in sight to Renato Sanches’s misfortunes. The young star who has struggled throughout a loan to Swansea City recently returned to Munich to receive treatment from Bayern team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt (ESPN and Kicker).

Sanches was enjoying a brief revival of form and playing time after the appointment of his countryman Carlos Carvalhal as head coach, following the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti’s former assistant, Paul Clement. After playing a full 90 minutes in back-to-back league games, Sanches injured his thigh in an FA Cup match against Wolverhampton.

Just over two weeks later, as he celebrated a comeback against Notts County on January 27), Sanches suffered the same injury yet again, this time sidelining him for “four to five weeks,” as Carvalhal announced. Sanches has missed several important matches, including a hard-fought 1:0 victory over Liverpool and a stunning 3:1 victory over Arsenal. Those successes have helped Swansea climb out of last place to 16th on the table.

Jupp Heynckes acknowledged Sanches’s presence in Munich at the pre-game press conference. Sanches contacted Hasan Salihamidzic after his injury and arranged to be treated by Müller-Wohlfahrt. “He is a very important man, and it’s no secret that he’s here,” Heynckes stated.

That’s how it should be: that you take care of your player. He belongs to Bayern Munich after all.

Swansea coach Carvalhal is optimistic that Sanches will return from injury sooner rather than later. He said, “I believe he will come back next month. That’s my feeling. I think he will be back sooner than we expect.”

A swift return to action is the best possible scenario, if Sanches is still to take advantage of further playing time on loan and help Swansea survive relegation.

Here’s the man himself.