Ito's second foot break confirmed as Bayern's defence ravaged
Bayern Munich defender Hiroki Ito will be sidelined for an extended period due to another metatarsal fracture, the Bundesliga leaders said on Sunday.
The Japan international, who joined Bayern from VfB Stuttgart last June, had already suffered a break in the same foot shortly after moving and was out until February.
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"After the injuries to Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano, Hiroki is now the third defender to be ruled out in a very short time. We will now have to pool all our resources even more to continue pursuing our goals," head of sport Max Eberl said in a statement.
Canada's Davies suffered a cruciate knee ligament tear on international duty, with Bayern considering legal action, while France's Upamecano also has a knee problem.
Ito sustained his injury during the 3-2 Bundesliga victory against St Pauli on Saturday.
He came on in the 58th minute but had to leave the pitch again in the 89th minute, leaving Bayern down to 10 after they had used all their substitutes.
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"The news of a serious injury hitting Hiroki again is very hard for all of us. He had just fought his way back after months of rehab and is now out for a long time again – you can only imagine what he's going through right now," Eberl said.
"We will give him all the support he needs. He's a fighter, and we look forward to seeing him back on the pitch. Keep your head up, Hiroki – Bayern are by your side."
Bayern have cover across the backline but any further defensive injuries could seriously complicate the Bundesliga run-in and their Champions League tilt.
The backline from the first half against St Pauli - consisting of Konrad Laimer, Eric Dier, Min jae Kim and Raphaël Guerreiro - is likely to be the defence for the decisive weeks ahead.
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