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Everyone feared the worst when Holger Badstuber crumpled to the Allianz Arena turf after 35 minutes of the autumn clash between Bayern and Borussia Dortmund. The defender stayed down after an innocuous challenge and was stretchered from the field in pain. The foreboding was confirmed when Holger was diagnosed with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, occasioning a five-month lay-off.
The player sustained the injury in early December last year. Now, five-and-a-half weeks later, fcbayern.de tracked down the defender to the massage room, where physio Gerry Hoffmann had wrapped Holger's knee in cooling bandages and was applying miniscule electrical pulses to speed the healing process. “If I was fit, my working day wouldn't be as long," the 23-year-old centre-back laughed. At present, he spends up to four hours a day at the Säbener Strasse facility working on his rehab programme. “The key thing in the first month is to get the knee under control, and we've succeeded," he reported, “now we start moving forward step-by-step."
Badstuber long ago stopped bemoaning his fate, as he is now beaming, laughing - and battling. “Obviously, I was in shock for the first few hours after the diagnosis, but I quickly pulled myself together. Cursing your luck gets you nowhere, you have to move on," he said. The swelling is going down and the knee is already much more flexible again, motivating the player to keep up his gruelling recovery program. And Holger’s team-mates, who are now back from Doha and will report for training on Friday, have not forgotten to send best wishes whenever they can.
Mario Gomez, himself close to full fitness after a lengthy lay-off, has chipped in many words of advice. “I said to him: ‘Holger, we can't really compare our two cases, because your injuriy’s much more serious. But you have to make the best of the situation.’ And that's what he'll do." Club captain Philipp Lahm, himself a torn cruciate victim in the early years of his career, and backup keeper Lukas Raeder, currently recovering from the same injury, have also been sharing their experiences with the stopper.
More activity at the Säbener
“I'm proud of the way the team's got behind me. You can’t take that for granted," said the FCB youth product. Prior to the Champions League meeting with Borisov, the stars lined up behind a banner sending greetings to their injured colleague and expressing solidarity with his plight. However, Badstuber regards the gesture as proof of solid unity within the dressing room. “We have more team spirit than in previous years. The battle for places is intense and everyone's giving everything in the name of success. That's made us bond, even more so because we're winning."
The 23-year-old is now looking forward to “a bit more action" with the return of the squad on Friday, “because there'll be more going on here in the professionals’ quarters." Badstuber himself has no precise idea of the next steps in his sports rehab programme: “We have to take it one day at a time, and see how the knee reacts. The priority for now is to get rid of the swelling completely."
The short-term plan could vary, but the defender has a fixed medium-term goal: “I'd really like to play again this season." Boss Jupp Heynckes has already held out that very prospect to his injured player: “Holger is already in better shape. I think he'll be back for the last few matches of the season, and that's what I’ve promised him." Badstuber is well aware of what he has to contribute in the meantime: “Patience, and plenty of work."
