The upbeat mood at Bayern this weekend, prompted by a good league win and Bastian Schweinsteiger’s decision to stay a further five years at the club until 2016, was boosted yet again on Sunday with the news that Arjen Robben is on the verge of resuming the team training programme. The Dutch star has yet to play this season due to a ruptured hamstring, sustained prior to the World Cup and seriously aggravated during it.
The 26-year-old, who has been able to jog and run for the last five weeks, has now been cleared by FCB chief medical officer Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt to rejoin the rest of the squad in the near future. Under the watchful eye of sports rehab and fitness coach Thomas Wilhelmi, Robben is expected to be gradually reintroduced to the daily workout schedule from Wednesday onwards.
Recovery according to plan
Robben’s recovery and rehab are thus going exactly as planned. His return to the full squad programme was envisaged for the winter training camp in Qatar from 2 to 9 January at the latest, but this will most likely be brought forward to the week before the mid-season break. The World Cup runner-up must now have a decent chance of featuring in some capacity in the restart fixture away to VfL Wolfsburg on 15 January.
The extent of Robben’s injury was revealed in a routine pre-season medical after his return from summer vacation in early August. The 2010 German Player of the Year has been restricted to rehab and fitness work since then. He resumed outdoor exercise in early November, and is now poised for the next step in his comeback.
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