Munich, March 30 (IANS): Bayern Munich's Thiago Alcantara will miss the rest of the season owing to a ligament injury.
The midfielder sustained a partially ruptured ligament in his right knee during the match against Hoffenheim, an MRI scan confirmed, reports Xinhua.
The Spaniard will have his knee stabilised in plaster for two weeks. Thereafter, he will have to wear splint and will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks. Thus, Alcantara will be out of action for the quarterfinal matches against Manchester United and a possible semifinal in the UEFA Champions League.
The 22-year-old joined Bayern in the summer 2013 to score two goals in 16 matches.
"This is bad news for us. We will miss him a lot," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said Saturday.
Teammate Thomas Mueller added on the club's webpage: "This is extremely bitter for us and comes at an inconvenient time."