Injury update: Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich should meet January return timetable per his surgeon

Good news on the Bayern Munich injury front! Joshua Kimmich’s knee surgery was deemed successful by his surgeon, who thinks the star midfielder should be able to meet his timetable to return in January.

According to Dr. Christian Fink, the procedure itself was not that serious. Kimmich had injured his meniscus, but no repairs were necessary. Instead, he just had to remove a small piece of the torn meniscus that was trapped in the knee joint, which means nothing has to heal separately.

“It (the knee) just has to get used to the new situation,” explained Dr. Fink to Münchner Merkur (as captured by Sport Bild and Abenzeitung).

Although the presence of the tear meant that surgery was inevitable, it is indeed good news that it was just a matter of removing rather than repairing. Dr. Fink also displayed some cautious optimism about Kimmich’s return by the beginning of the new year.

“Young age, good muscles, and no additional damage to the knee are always good prerequisites,” said the Innsbruck physician. “All of those are present in this case.”

Dr. Fink has already operated on several Bayern Munich stars in the past, with Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane being some of his patients. Judging from their current fitness and good performances since their own respective operations, it is safe to assume that Kimmich will also be in safe hands.

This is Kimmich’s first major injury in his career, with the German midfielder sustaining it in a hard collision with Erling Haaland (who was not at fault) during Bayern Munich’s 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund. Despite that, however, Kimmich immediately took to Instagram to reassure the fans that he will be back soon and reaffirm his fighting spirit.

Bayern will be hoping that Kimmich will be back by January, especially due to the shortened winter break. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bundesliga season started later than it normally would, and to make up for lost time, had its usual month-long winter recess shortened to a matter of days.

With fixtures coming thick and fast in multiple competitions, Kimmich’s quick recovery will undoubtedly be a blessing to his team as they fight to carry on their recent success.