An injury is the worst thing a player can experience early in the season. That is what German giants Bayern Munich and Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri have to deal with. The Bayern winger is expected to miss six to seven weeks after tearing his right hamstring while playing for Switzerland last Friday. In a 2-1 win over Albania that helped Switzerland secure their place in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 22 year old scored the first goal of the match in the 47th minute but had to be taken out just six minutes later.
According to their website, Shaqiri’s injury was diagnosed by Bayern Chief Medical Officer Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt. In an interview the the club’s official website, Shaqiri said,“I’m gutted by the diagnosis. I’m disappointed, but I’ll try and regain fitness as quickly as possible. I ruptured a muscle group once before, in my left hamstring that time, but I was fit again relatively quickly after that. I’m hoping for something similar this time.”
So what does this mean for Bayern Munich? Well Bayern fans, you don’t have to worry about your team’s future! Shaqiri has been used mainly as a backup to Arjen Robben on Bayern’s right wing. Last year, Shaqiri played in 39 matches and recorded six goals. He has played six matches so far this season and started only three. The bigger problem for the team is the injuries to midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martinez as well as defender Holger Badstuber. But Bayern has overcome injury problems before and they can do it again.
Personally, I don’t believe this will affect Bayern at all. Shaqiri is a great player, but looking at Bayern’s schedule I sense there won’t be any trouble. The next three games for Bayern Munich are all at home. They take on Mainz this coming Saturday, then face off against Viktoria Plzen in a UEFA Champions League match and then they play their last match in October against Hertha Berlin. Their match against Borussia Dortmund on November 23rd is the toughest game during Shaqiri’s absence, but I believe that Bayern has a strong enough team to beat their rivals. If Shaqiri’s projected injury time is longer than 7 weeks, Bayern could see trouble as they have to face Manchester City in December and City would be looking to get revenge as they lost to Bayern 3-1 earlier this month.
Bayern had an impressive season last year and they look to defend the three titles they won— the Bundesliga title, the German Cup and the Champions League. With the lineup that Bayern Munich has, I think that they are strong enough to beat any team that comes their way. Bayern’s previous Bundesliga and Champions League success shows that the team can overcome any obstacle that is thrown at them.
Good luck on your road to recovery Xherdan! On the bright side, at least the injury happened now and not before Shaqiri and the rest of the Switzerland team had to fly out to Brazil for the World Cup.
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