Bayern and Bundesliga News: The Return Of The Man Made Of Glass.

Arjen Robben is injured- is that surprising?

The World Cup semi-finalists and finalists returned to Bayern yesterday and "ball boy" Thomas Mueller decided to get on with his duties straight from the off. Franck Ribery started off by playing a practical joke on David Alaba and then driving the team bus with Daniel Van Buyten. Miro Klose moved on to his club duties grumpily as Louis Van Gaal looked on.

Arjen Robben was diagnosed today with an injury which will leave him on the sidelines for atleast two months; apparently, he played through this injury in the World Cup and aggravated it. The Bayern bosses are furious and will definitely want some compensation from the Dutch FA (KNVB). Karl Heinz Rummenigge has confirmed that the club has asked FIFA to act as a mediator.

Daniel Van Buyten is also injured currently and will be on the sidelines for atleast two weeks. Franck Ribery is working to get back to his best after his latest surgery following the World Cup.

So, then- who should be the happiest man following this piece of news?- Without a doubt, that man should be Toni Kroos. Kroos can play as a left-sided midfielder as well as a central midfielder. Kroos has already said that he is ready to compete for his spot. He has also mentioned that he and Mueller can play alongside each other which might be the case come Matchday One.

Bayern were given a good old mauling by Schalke, especially Raul in the final of the LIGA Total! Cup.They went down 3-1, after having gone one up in the sixth minute through Deniz Mujic. Infact, you could be forgiven if you thought that Schalke were picking on Bayern's reserve side from the third division, Bayern II. Schalke equalized through Raul. Edu added a second and Raul added third with an exquisite chip.

Earlier, Bayern beat Koeln on penalties following one of the most boring friendlies that I have ever watched to progress to the final while Schalke came from behind to beat Hamburg 2-1.

At the end of the day though, Schalke were brilliant. Meanwhile, Hamburg beat Koeln 3-0 to claim third place.

Schalke signed Spanish U-21 international Sergio Escudero. Felix Magath seriously wants to beat Bayern...again, albeit with a different club. Schalke are apparently trying to lure Mario Gomez away from Bayern. Magath is one of the best coaches as far as rebuilding a player is concerned and he would like to bring back the old bullish Gomez.

Borussia Monchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt earned friendly wins over Liverpool and Chelsea respectively. Even a 1-0 loss to Molde FK at home, meanwhile will see Stuttgart through to the next qualifying stage for the Europa League.

Finally, Bayern will play Schalke in the DFL Super Cup in Augsburg on Saturday. I will end with a quote from Rummenigge about Robben's injury:

“Naturally, FC Bayern Munich is extremely angry. Yet again, we as a club are having to pay the price for a player sustaining a serious injury with his national team.”