Bayern’s worst fears about the injury sustained by Thiago in the first half of Saturday’s meeting with Hoffenheim have been confirmed with the player now facing a lay-off of six to eight weeks. An MRI scan conducted in the evening at Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt’s practice has confirmed the FCB chief medical officer’s initial diagnosis of a partially ruptured ligament in the right knee.
The Spaniard’s knee will be put in plaster for the next 14 days, after which he will be fitted with a splint. The recovery process will take between six and eight weeks, meaning the midfielder definitely misses both legs of the Champions League quarter-final clash with Manchester United and any subsequent semi-final. The summer signing was forced out of the Hoffenheim match after 25 minutes.
“This is very bad news,” commented Pep Guardiola, “we’ll miss him.” Thomas Müller agreed: “That’s bitter and comes at a catastrophically bad time, just before the most important games.” Arjen Robben offered a similar opinion: “It’s a big loss.”
