What Philipp Lahm's Injury Means for Bayern Munich's Fringe Players

The international break may offer footballers relief from the burden of playing club-level games, but even for those who have retired from competition with national teams, the spectre of unnecessary injuries can still take its toll.

Or so Bayern Munich learned earlier this week when captain Philipp Lahm, who retired from international duty with Germany after winning the World Cup in July, sustained an ankle fracture during training.

The 31-year-old is now set to miss the next three months (per the official Bayern Twitter account), a huge blow for a Bayern team already stricken with injuries.

He joins Holger Badstuber, Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez and David Alaba on the list of Bayern players who won't be seen back in action until after the winter break.

With Bastian Schweinsteiger still sidelined and not having played since July, Bayern will need players formerly on the periphery of the squad to step forward and deliver.

Among the options to take Lahm's spot in the lineup are Pierre Hojbjerg, Sebastian Rode and Mario Gotze. And in all likelihood, the recent loss of Alaba in addition to the captain means that two of the aforementioned can expect to start regularly for the foreseeable future.

For Rode especially, the injuries to Lahm and Alaba should mean a significant increase in minutes played. The 24-year-old is a combative holding midfielder by nature and can easily slip into either Alaba's hybrid defender-midfielder role or play in Lahm's more straightforward midfield position alongside Xabi Alonso.

Rode played center-back during a spell at his time in Frankfurt, and he perhaps is the most suitable man to replace Alaba. However, if Guardiola reverts to a chain of three natural center-backs in Jerome Boateng, Mehdi Benatia and Dante, his decision would most likely leave Rode in midfield.

In the event that Rode is used at the back, there becomes a competition between Hojbjerg and Gotze for the role alongside Alonso. At first, it may seem obvious that Hojbjerg is the right man. However, his situation is complicated.

Shortly before Lahm's injury was revealed, Kicker (h/t FIFA.com) released a report that quoted the Dane as saying he had to leave Bayern in order to make the next step in his career. Hojbjerg's statements came amid widespread rumors over the interest of other Bundesliga clubs in his services, the FIFA report citing allegations of Hannover, Gladbach and Augsburg being keen on his signing.

There rarely is smoke without fire, and in all likelihood, the player knows what he would have in Hannover. Lahm's injury will probably do very little to affect whether Hojbjerg leaves in January. Bayern will have Bastian Schweinsteiger back in action possibly as soon as Saturday and Alaba could even return to training before the end of December.

Lahm's absence will be lengthier, but if back in action by mid-February as expected, he'll only miss about three weeks after the Bundesliga's restart at the end of January.

By that time, almost regardless of how well he does with any chances he may have between now and then, Hojbjerg will be back in the position he's in now. And if he is to leave, it may well be that Guardiola decides to continue using Hojbjerg only sparingly between now and the end of December.

There is another option in Gotze, who is a much more attack-minded player than Lahm but could certainly fit into the lineup. As an 18-year-old at Dortmund, he occasionally played in a holding midfield role as deputy for Nuri Sahin, and this season and last he was used behind the front three in Guardiola's lineup.

In normal situations, using such a forward-minded player in such a position would be defensively suicidal, but with Bayern not set to face a single top-four opponent between now and the winter break, Gotze just might be used in a deeper position.

Gotze in midfield would mean fewer goals and assists for him but would result in Guardiola being able to accommodate he and three of Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben in the same lineup, more or less keeping the peace within an extremely competitive squad.

Due to post-World Cup fatigue and injuries, there hasn't been much conflict yet among Bayern's best attackers. But with all of the aforementioned coming into form as of late, Guardiola could soon face a dilemma if forced to leave two on the bench.

When Schweinsteiger is fully healthy and back in good form—and it may take him a few weeks to settle back into business as usual—he will either move Gotze to the bench or back into an attacking position. In the meantime, the 22-year-old has a good chance to show the more tactical side of his game.

Much depends on Schweinsteiger's recovery, how Hojbjerg and Guardiola react to Lahm's injury, and whether the trainer gives Dante another chance in defense. These questions only the trainer can answer right now.

But for the time being, it looks as though Lahm's injury will result in more minutes for Rode at least in the short-term, while the impending return of Schweinsteiger especially means that Hojbjerg's situation is unlikely to change very much.

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