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No 'exact prognosis' for Thiago Alcantara's return from knee injury, says Bayern executive

Reuters

There is still no definite timetable for the return of midfielder Thiago Alcantara, Bayern Munich sporting executive Matthias Sammer said Thursday.

Alcantara, 23, suffered a partial ligament tear in his right knee in March, which required him to go under the knife. 

Initially expected to miss six weeks, the young Spaniard made a quick recovery, only to have a recurrence of the injury put him back on the sidelines just two days after he rejoined the squad. As a result, he missed out on an opportunity to represent Spain at the World Cup (not a terrible consequence, in hindsight).

He has not played since, and while there have been rumblings in Germany that Thiago could make his return at some point this month, Sammer moved to quell any excitement in an interview with sports magazine kicker.

"We can't respectably say how long this will take. We can't give an exact prognosis," Sammer said, via ESPN FC. "The development is very regrettable." 

While Alcantara is a wonderful attacking midfielder who brings an added dynamism to Bayern's squad - and is a favorite of manager Pep Guardiola - the Bavarian club is one of the few in the world that could move on without being overly impacted by his absence.

The likes of Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze, Xherdan Shaqiri, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery will more than suffice, thank you very much.

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