Bayern Munich trio forced to miss Gladbach trip due to injuries

Bayern Munich will be without a trio of significant components for its trip to Monchengladbach as Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa, and David Alaba were ruled out of Saturday's contest.

Robben's prognosis was the most promising of the three, as he's expected to resume training in the next week after battling a nagging calf injury. Costa and Alaba face an extended period on the sidelines because of thigh and ankle problems, respectively, and look likely to miss matches beyond the Borussia Monchengladbach tie.

Manager Pep Guardiola revealed that the ankle injury Alaba suffered against Schalke has proven more severe than originally thought.

"He won't play again before the winter break,” Guardiola announced. "I hope he’ll be able to train with us at the start of the new year."

The situation regarding Costa is similar as Guardiola is not willing to take any risks with the Brazilian and will likely hold him out of the team's final game before the winter break, despite saying he has a chance to play against Hannover on Dec. 18.

"What matters is that they’re all 100 percent fit after the winter break," Guardiola insisted.

Bayern did receive one major boost on the injury front with Franck Ribery's return to action, as the Frenchman appears to be edging closer to appearing in his first match in nine months.