Schweinsteiger Return Could Make Bayern Well Near Unstoppable

It is easy to forget that Bastian Schweinsteiger played much of the 2014 World Cup in considerable discomfort.

Easy, because he was on the pitch for all 120 minutes of the final, a match in which he helped defuse the Argentina attack, to which he returned after having his head opened up by Sergio Aguero's knuckles and that he completed with a winner's medal around his neck and, according to The Guardian, six tired words: "I'm empty. My legs are gone."

The injury-riddled Germany midfielder hadn't started either of his country's first two games in Brazil, and against the United States on the final day of group-stage play, he was withdrawn after 76 minutes.

Six weeks later, he suffered an ankle injury against the Major League Soccer All-Stars while on pre-season tour with Bayern Munich, and a knee problem surfaced soon after that. Then, in early October, the 30-year-old was felled by a bout of tonsillitis. It wasn't until the end of the month that he began to train on his own.

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Bayern, in the meantime, simply got on with the task at hand. They had little choice, and despite Schweinsteiger's absence, they began the season on a tear, going unbeaten in their first 11 Bundesliga matches and booking early passage to the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League.

With Javi Martinez and Thiago Alcantara also unavailable through injury, summer signing Xabi Alonso took the opportunity to transfer a reputation as one of Spanish football's elite midfielders to Germany, and former right-back Philipp Lahm also continued to excel in the centre of the park.

Both players have been integral to what Bayern have accomplished so far this campaign, and that's not about to change anytime soon. If anything, they—and the team as a whole—will only be boosted by Schweinsteiger's impending return to availability, a comeback that, according to Goal, could happen before the end of the calendar year.

As announced on Bayern's official website, Schweinsteiger completed a 60-minute session of team drills on Tuesday, his first since August.

He "played passes, shot at goal, threw himself into tackles and then iced his personal cake with a scissors-kick goal in the practice match at the end of the workout," stated the team release.

Manager Pep Guardiola, however, refused to put unnecessary pressure on the World Cup-winner, saying there was "no pressure" for an immediate return and that he would bring the midfielder along "step by step."

That said, Schweinsteiger's return can only be a boon to Bayern's already promising fortunes, and with Alonso and Lahm having been heavily involved in the first three months of the schedule, the chance to lightly rotate the squad will surely be one Guardiola will take.

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Given that the first half of Bayern's season ends on December 19, Schweinsteiger will likely figure in just two or three matches before the Bundesliga breaks until the end of January. In other words, he'll have an additional five weeks to get himself into shape before a winter fixture pile-up that will include expectations of an extended run in the Champions League.

Bayern will need his talent, tenacity and smarts in the new year, especially with Thiago and Martinez unlikely to contribute much of anything this term.

A midfielder once likened to Xavi and Andres Iniesta by former Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes, as per Goal, Schweinsteiger could be set to turn an already dominant side into an almost unstoppable force.