Bayern Munich have just released a statement that will be
music to the ears of Arsenal. Their star midfielder Franck Ribery has been
ruled out of the Champions League last 16 match against Arsenal. Ribery has
missed the last match against Nurenberg after a surgery on his buttocks.
He was expected to be back quickly in time for this
crunch match, but Bayern Munich have revealed that the player will resume
running training only next week. Bayern said on their official site:
"An examination on Monday revealed that the bruise,
which had pressed on a nerve, was completely removed by surgery last Thursday.
"After healing, the 30-year-old is scheduled to
begin exercise therapy later this week and, a week later, he will return to
running training.
"Therefore Ribery will miss the next games, among
them the last-16 tie at Arsenal in the Champions League."
Bayern Munich are regarded as the strongest team in the
world right now. They are especially strong in the midfield area, but the
German outfit will certainly miss a player like Ribery. After all, the
Frenchman was included in the final three-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon
d’Or award. The title was ultimately won by Cristiano Ronaldo, but many felt
that Ribery should have won the award with football being a team sport.
Ribery has been in fine form for Bayern this campaign as
well. He has three goals from the Champions League group stages, while a return
of seven goals and eight assists has seen him take eight Man of the Match
gongs.
The visit of Bayern Munich to the Emirates is the final
of the four massive fixtures for Arsenal in February. They came out of the
first – against Liverpool – in pretty bad shape, but at least they can relax at
the prospect of not having to face one of the finest in the world. Still,
Bayern Munich are so strong in this area of the pitch that the replacement is
likely to be Arjen Robben or Mario Gotze.
Arsenal, last season, went out of the competition at the
hands of Bayern Munich. If Arsenal repeat anything remotely resembling their
opening 20 minutes against Liverpool, they could face a similar exit this
season as well.
Culled from SWOL
