Bayern Defender Ito Suffers Foot Injury Again Shortly After Returning from Previous Setback

Bayern Munich’s defender Hiroki Ito has endured a broken metatarsal in his right foot for the second time in less than a year, just weeks after returning from a previous injury, the Bundesliga leaders announced on Sunday.

Having initially fractured his metatarsal in July upon joining the team in Munich, Ito made his return last month. He was substituted in during the 58th minute of Saturday’s 3-2 victory over St Pauli but sustained another injury late in the match.

“The FC Bayern medical team has confirmed that he has experienced a recurrence of a fracture in his right metatarsal,” the club stated.

“Ito, who transferred to Munich from VfB Stuttgart last summer, will be sidelined for an extended period.”

This injury marks the third defender Bayern has lost in recent days, following the injuries of Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies, who were both injured while on international duty just over a week ago.

With seven matches remaining, Bayern lead the Bundesliga title race by six points and are set to face Inter Milan in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on April 8th.

“The news of yet another serious injury to Hiroki is a heavy blow for all of us. He’s only just come back after months of rehabilitation, and now he faces another long stint sidelined – we can hardly fathom how he must feel,” said Max Eberl, Bayern’s board member for sport, in a statement.

“Following the injuries to Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano, we’ve now lost a third defender in quick succession. We will need to rally our resources even more to continue chasing our objectives.”