Bengaluru, April 26: Bayern Munich said in a statement on their website, "The loose body that had been diagnosed beforehand was removed; the attachment of the rear lateral meniscus damaged by the loose body was repaired. The season is over for Arturo Vidal.”
It came as a shock to the Chilean and the club, who were poised to take on the challenge of facing the European champions Real Madrid in their Champions league semifinals.
Vidal injured himself in his first training session after returning from a blow he suffered in the Champions league quarter final against Sevilla and was also omitted from the Dfb Pokal Cup semifinal against Leverkusen earlier this month.
The Chilean was enjoying a fine season with the Bavarians with six goals and two assists to his name in the Bundesliga, as well as starting in all but one of Bayern’s Champions League ties and enjoyed his manger’s confidence.
Bayern missed him for the first leg against Toni Kroos and Co. The battle in the midfield effectively decided the first leg though Bayern were equally inept at finishing.
The other reason for Bayern’s loss also had to do with casualties apart from Vidal. Without Manuel Neuer, defender David Alaba and centre-back Jerome Boateng and winger Arjen Robben, who were forced off early, Bayern’s tepid display was exactly one without star players.
For Vidal, this might be an extended break. With Chile having not made it to the World Cup, the South American will have plenty of time on his hands to come back next season. Though he has might be targeting a comeback with Bayern during their pre-season, there are chances of him recuperating with another club this summer.
The Copa America winner took to Twitter to thank his fans in a recent tweet and vowed to comeback even stronger from his leg injury.
Estos momentos tristes son menos tristes gracias a los miles de mensajes de apoyo que recibo de ustedes !No voy a aflojar, yo no me rindo. De esta vuelvo más fuerte que nunca. Un abrazo muy fuerte a cada una de las hermosas personas que piensan en mi y me apoyan en todo momento!! pic.twitter.com/uIaN2AtIxZ
— Arturo Vidal (@kingarturo23) April 17, 2018