Franck Ribery Injury Hands Mario Gotze Another Chance at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich were dealt a big blow on Thursday when it was revealed that star winger Franck Ribery had sustained a muscular injury. The club announced on their official Twitter account that the 31-year-old had suffered a fibre tear and would miss the beginning of the second round of the Bundesliga.

Fans need not worry much about the Frenchman's absence, for the club's prognosis is that he will return to training within 14 days. In the meantime, however, there still remains the question of how the Bavarians will replace their superstar winger.

A few years ago, the loss of Ribery would have been devastating—at least for the games he'd miss. In 2010, his backup would have been Hamit Altintop, a functional player, but one who could not be counted upon to bear the responsibility of being the club's primary creator of play.

Even as recently as the spring of 2013, there wasn't a true alternative to Ribery who possessed the range of qualities a playmaker needs, from one-on-one skill to skill in the pass to mental ability to focus on not only the ball but the range of passing options available.

All that changed when Bayern signed Mario Gotze from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2013. The crown jewel of the Bundesliga academy system, BVB's former "golden boy" would later make good on his potential when he scored the winner for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final. Yet, at club level, his performances have been mixed since his move to Munich.

Gotze has gone through alternating spurts of brilliance and mediocrity over the last year-and-a-half, perhaps at times struggling to find his role in a system that isn't as focused around his qualities as he had under Jurgen Klopp at BVB.

The most recent spurt of brilliance from Gotze came during the fall, when his heroics more or less carried Bayern through what could have been a difficult time. Robert Lewandowski was struggling for form at his new club and Ribery was unfit at the time, while Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben were not exactly at their sharpest after a strenuous World Cup.

Gotze recorded key assists in each of Bayern's first two Champions League matches (both 1-0 victories), and during a spell from September 13 to October 18, scored six goals and set up three more in just seven matches in all competitions.

It's no coincidence that Ribery didn't start a single game during that time. Accordingly, the 22-year-old was relied upon to be the mastermind of the attack. Most attacks progressed through Gotze at some point, and the playmaker had a fantastic array of targets in Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski.

Although very diverse in skills and playing styles, all three of Gotze's targets were more the type to be on the receiving end in the final third, so the World Cup winner had a clearly defined role that did not conflict with those of his teammates.

After missing 10 games early in the campaign, Ribery returned to action as a substitute on October 18 and made his return as a starter three weeks later. He started on the left wing in all of Bayern's final seven games of the Bundesliga's first round, scoring once and assisting four goals.

Over that same period of time, Gotze provided just one assist and one goal (in Round 11 and Round 12 respectively), the role in which he'd thrived having been taken back by the senior Ribery. As great and important as he'd been in September and October, the Germany international entered the winter break with little more than a whimper.

With Ribery sidelined for at least the first two games of the second round, Gotze has another chance to be a leader for Bayern. And in the long term, that must be his goal. The question is when he'll finally take the torch.

Ribery turns 32 in April, and although he could remain a very useful player for Bayern over the next few years, the club will be looking toward Gotze to gradually take on his responsibilities. The sooner he does, the sooner Pep Guardiola, Matthias Sammer and Co. can feel assured of the club's preparedness for the future.

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