Bayern Munich has announced that Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara has re-torn a ligament in his right knee, requiring surgery and an extended stint on the sidelines.
Since signing with Barcelona from Munich on a $35 million move in the summer of 2013, Alcantara’s sporting life has been nothing short of a nightmare. After featuring in 16 matches notching two goals and four assists, Alcantara’s season was ended when he tore knee ligament against Hoffenheim on March 29th.
After a brief return to training in May, he suffered a setback in the same knee requiring further surgery and ruling him out of the World Cup in Brazil. After a summer of rehabilitation, Alcantara had just returned to training before re-tearing the ligament for the third time in eight months.
“What can I say?” Alcantara told the club’s official website. “Of course, I am at the moment profoundly disappointed and upset. Why always me? But I will not give up. I will fight again. I’m going to get close again. And I will celebrate my comeback at Bayern.”
Sporting director Mathias Sammer expressed his shock over the injury and pledged that "[Bayern] will do everything to ensure that he is healthy again and can bring us a lot of titles.”
Ligament injuries typically sideline players from anywhere between five and eight months, meaning a spring return for Alcantara is not out of the question.
