Bastian Schweinsteiger almost certainly hoped for a more conventional and relaxed summer vacation than the one he has ended up having. With no major tournament this summer, the 24-year-old was looking forward to a good three or four weeks' recovery from a long season with Bayern and Germany. As things have turned out, Schweini has only managed to put his feet up for the odd day or two here and there.
The problems started with an operation on his injured left knee, deemed necessary in early June after the player returned from a short trip to Asia with his national team. "I was in hospital for six days after that, and then I reported to Doc Müller-Wohlfahrt for an initial ten-day rehab programme," Schweinsteiger revealed to fcbayern.de on Monday.
Building muscle strength
He was then obliged to undergo a second round of surgery to repair calf muscle damage. Schweinsteiger spent a good part of last season carrying both painful injuries.
He has been reporting to the Säbener Strasse daily since Saturday, working on his physical fitness with physiotherapist Gerry Hoffmann. "With the leg that was operated on, I still need to build up the muscles a couple more centimetres," the midfielder explained.
Schweini aiming for honours
As a result, Schweini will not be 100 percent fit for the start of pre-season training under new coach Louis van Gaal on Wednesday. "I reckon I'll need a few more days before I can resume the team programme," confirmed Schweinsteiger, who signed a contract extension with FCB until the summer of 2012 last January.
He is thoroughly looking forward to the new campaign. "I'm still a little angry about not winning a trophy last season. We're not used to that here at Bayern. So I'm determined we'll come to the end of next season with a piece of silverware or two."
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