In each of his three seasons at Stuttgart, Hiroki Itō played over 2,000 Bundesliga minutes. During this time, he only missed four league games due to injury. However, the story is different for the Japanese international since he joined the record champions on a free transfer.
A metatarsal fracture meant Itō had to wait for his first Bayern appearance until mid-February. He scored in his Allianz Arena debut against Eintracht Frankfurt, but a third injury to the same place ended his season prematurely.
After serious injuries to Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano during the international break, Bayern were counting on the player who can play in both center-back and left-back positions. But, Itō now joins them in the treatment room after another setback in the closing stages of yesterday’s game against St. Pauli, which resulted in Bayern finishing the game with ten men since Vincent Kompany had already made five substitutions.
“After the injuries to Davies and Upamecano, we’ve now lost a third defender in a short space of time. We will now pool our forces even more to continue pursuing our goals,” Max Eberl commented after the game as he sent a message to his summer signing.
“He’ll get all the support he needs from us. He’s a fighter. And, we look forward to him being back on the pitch. Keep your head up, Hiroki – FC Bayern are on your side.”
According to BIld, the initial estimate is that Itō will be out for the next three months. However, the recurrence of a fracture in the same area could complicate his recovery process. Itō only featured eight times for Bayern. He has never played an entire 90 minutes in a Bayern jersey.
