Ribéry still plagued by stubborn injury

Franck Ribéry could be sidelined for another month, club chief medic Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt has warned. The France international continues to be plagued by a persistent inflammation of the patellar tendon in his left knee. “We’ve decided Ribéry should simply rid himself of the injury first,” Louis van Gaal reported at the Champions League meeting with Bordeaux, “and that could take a month.”

For his part, Müller-Wohlfahrt has proposed four weeks’ rest for Ribéry. “An inflamed tendon is tough to treat,” said the Bayern doctor. The player’s current schedule involves daily treatment and light sports rehab exercise.

String of setbacks

The Frenchman has been struggling with the injury since the early summer. The 26-year-old has made several attempts at a comeback, but has always been forced back to the sidelines afterwards. He last appeared in the home Bundesliga meeting with Köln three weeks ago, but remained in the dressing room at half-time complaining of knee pain.

If the prognosis of another month out of action is correct, Ribery will miss Bayern’s next five competitive fixtures, including the Champions League return against Bordeaux, and Bundesliga encounters with Stuttgart and Schalke. He is also rated extremely doubtful for his country’s crucial World Cup qualifying play-offs against Ireland (14 and 18 November). The time plan would suggest a return to action in time for the league meeting with leaders Leverkusen on 22 November.