How Bayern Munich Will Address Long-Term Thiago Alcantara Injury

Bayern Munich were dealt a major blow to their season this week when it was announced that Thiago Alcantara needed knee ligament surgery following another injury setback. 

Despite Pep Guardiola's team brushing aside opponents in Europe and Germany left, right and centre this season, they have had to deal with a number of big injuries over the course of the campaign. Thiago being one of the most unexpected and hardest to now address. 

The problem with the injury to the young Spaniard is that there's nobody at the club who can perform the function that he does whenever he is in the side. 

As an attacking midfielder with immense technical ability, alongside pace and natural dribbling ability, Thiago came to Bayern as something of a natural alternative to the club's current midfield maestro, Toni Kroos. 

Guardiola opted to alternate between the two whenever he could, but it eventually became abundantly clear that Bayern could only accommodate one of the two identical players in their squad. So the coach chose Thiago and off went Kroos to Real Madrid. 

This has now left Bayern with one attack-minded central midfielder. 

The key man in Bayern's central midfield is now Xabi Alonso. Initially signed as something of cover for a embattled Bastian Schweinsteiger and redeployed Javi Martinez, the former Real Madrid Galactico has slotted straight into Guardiola's system and saved the coach many a sleepless night.

Although far from playing the role that Thiago would be playing if fit and able for Bayern at the moment, Alonso has come into this squad and demanded commitment and consistency from Guardiola's make-shift central midfielders. 

Bayern may have lost a star in Toni Kroos and a rising talent in Thiago, but what they gained in this midfield general is a key attribute in their ability to keep things together in midfield. Without Alonso, the Bavarian club would have been in a lot more trouble at this point in the season. 

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

This has led to an altogether more defensive midfield from Bayern this season. Where Kroos and Schweinsteiger would take turns terrorizing opponents last year, Guardiola's side now has defensive anchor Alonso in charge, while the likes of Philipp Lahm and David Alaba take turns partnering him in his pursuit of total dominance in possession. 

This isn't altogether a bad thing. Bayern's defence has looked shaky at times this season, yet with just two goals conceded in the Bundesliga and Champions League, Guardiola's side have made do, and that has been in no small part down to this new midfield unit. 

However, Bayern and their meticulous coach have been eagerly awaiting the return of their Spanish whizz-kid. 

Injuries to senior attackers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben were notably felt at the start of the season alongside a misfiring Robert Lewandowski and jaded Thomas Muller, fresh from his World Cup win in the summer. 

A gulf in attacking imagination has slowly but surely began to be filled in by the returning Dutch winger as well as Mario Gotze—who has began to show some consistency in front of goal for the first time since joining the club—but Bayern are desperate for more attacking flair in deeper areas.

The former Dortmund midfielder could and has at times played in central midfield alongside the likes of Alaba and Alonso, but in truth, he is needed further up the park while playmaker-in-chief Ribery remains crocked on the sideline. 

This leaves none other than young fledgling star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as the last remaining alternative to the current status quo. 

The Danish international is a central midfielder with an attacking incentive in his game and is raring to go while biding his time on the bench and in the reserve team. In such sides, Hojbjerg has always broken away from fellow midfielders in the goalscoring and assist charts, like Thiago and indeed Kroos before him. 

Like Thiago and Gotze, Hojbjerg has a tremendous grasp of his close control and an eye for through balls and quick one-twos on the edge of the box. If Guardiola is looking for a replacement for his injured Spanish star then this Dane may be his ideal solution.