Football
ESPN staff 8y

Bayern Munich's Holger Badstuber out three months with broken ankle

Bayern Munich centre-back Holger Badstuber has broken his ankle in training on Saturday and will be out for at least three months.

The 26-year-old, who has already undergone surgery on the ankle, missed the start of the season after a torn thigh muscle kept him out for nearly five months until he returned to the team in October.

The club confirmed the news that he would face another long spell on the sidelines on their official Twitter account.

Bayern Munich also issued a statement on their website, saying the injury happened without third-party interference and labeling the news as "immense misfortune for Badstuber and FC Bayern."

The defender wrote on Sunday: "Once a fighter always a fighter. Now more than ever!" 

Badstuber, who has 31 appearances for the Germany national team, has endured an injury-plagued career, including almost two years on the sidelines due to a complicated cruciate ligament injury in 2012.

Badstuber's absence comes at a bad time for Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, who has seen almost his entire contingent of central defenders sidelined.

Jerome Boateng is unlikely to return before the end of the season while Javi Martinez faces a few more weeks out.

Medhi Benatia has only just returned to training while Serdar Tasci, who was drafted in on transfer deadline day, is recovering from concussion and may also miss Sunday's clash with Augsburg.

Midfielder Joshua Kimmich, 21, has played Bayern's last two games in the defence alongside Badstuber.

Information from Press Association was used in this report.

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