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The forward of the German national team and Munich's club Lukas Podolski will not be able to help his team this season due to constant knee problems - the season ended earlier for him.
The 21-year-old footballer recently complained of pain in his left calf, which then moved to the thigh muscle. Tests showed that he has knee cartilage problems and he will undergo surgery on Thursday.
After the surgery, L.Podolski will need three months to fully recover, which means that Bayern's head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld will have to do without the young forward for the remaining four Bundesliga matches. The club's general director Uli Hoeness notes that L.Podolski will be ready to play at the beginning of the next season.
But that's not all of Munich's team problems. Defenders Mark van Bommel and Owen Hargreaves have had ankle and knee injuries respectively, while Peruvian forward Claudio Pizarro has a groin injury.
All of these players will miss Saturday's match against the "Hamburg SV" team, and Bayern, if they win, would reduce the gap from 3rd place "Stuttgart" to two points.
If the Bayern team finishes 4th in the German league, it means that next year Munich's eleven will miss the chance to secure a spot in the UEFA Champions League tournament.
