In a stroke of good news, Hiroki Itō has returned to Bayern Munich’s team training.
After months of rehab and weeks of individual work, the Japanese defender was able to partake in a team training session
under Vincent Kompany at Säbener Straße.
Still just 26-years-old, Itō could be a big boost the roster as he can play both center-back and left-back:
📸 Hiroki Ito trained with the team again today.
From a depth standpoint, Itō should make a big impact, but there is at least some trepidation in the defender’s ability to fully overcome this injury. Itō suffered a metatarsal fracture in his right foot, which is a recurrence of an injury he first sustained in the 2024/25 preseason. Itō underwent his second surgery and was sidelined for most of the 2024/2025 season.
With the midweek DFB-Pokal match out of the way, Bayern Munich returns its focus to the Bundesliga.
In this instance, the animosity in the board room might be greater than what we will see on the pitch as Bayer Leverkusen will make the trip to the Allianz Arena to square off with league leaders.
While Bayer Leverkusen has made a strong turnaround from where it was at the beginning of the season, this group is still far from Xabi Alonso’s group of “wonder boys”, who won the Bundesliga two years ago.
Let’s dive into this match and break it all down. This is what we have on tap for the next edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show:
- What to watch for with Bayer Leverkusen.
- A look at Bayern Munich’s injury situation.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
