When Bayern Munich shocked Europe in making their way to the 2010 Champions League final, Holger Badstuber was one of two young talents who came out of nowhere in making their way in Louis van Gaal's team.More than five years later, the other starlet, Thomas Muller, has continued to progress and is one of Europe's most coveted footballers. Badstuber, by contrast, is all but forgotten.Injuries have severely curtailed the 26-year-old's career. After initially suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in late 2012, he had a repeat of the same injury a few months later. So dire was his situation that a second operation was impossible at first because the middle third of his patellar tendon, removed and put in place of the torn ACL, hadn't yet grown back.Badstuber eventually had further surgery, and he returned to action in August of 2014, the better portion of two years later. But last season, per Transfermarkt, he took part in just 16 games for a total of 1040 minutes. He suffered a torn tendon in his left thigh early in the campaign and, later, a muscular tear, which together severely limited his minutes. This season, he's suffered from a thigh muscle tear, which had kept him out of action until recently.Badstuber made his long-awaited return to competitive, first-team football on Saturday, coming off the bench to complete his first half-hour on the pitch in about half a year.It was a good first step, but there still is a long way to go for the center-back if he is to justify selection as a starter in a defense in which Mehdi Benatia and Javi Martinez have to battle for playing time.Pep Guardiola has long been a fan of Badstuber. Last July, he was quoted byBild (in German) as saying the Bayern academy graduate was the best center-back he'd ever coached. And last week, perGoal, he reaffirmed his faith in Badstuber, stating: "In build-up play, he is one of the best players that I have ever seen."There's no doubting that Badstuber was a great player prior to his many injuries, and that he has talent and potential to return to a high level of play if he can stay healthy. But all the injuries he's suffered since his cruciate ligament tears have been symptomatic of a man whose musculature hasn't recovered from a couple years without playing football.Just as young athletes develop themselves physically in lower leagues (the under-17s, under-19s, reserve teams and on loan at second- or third-division sides), Badstuber may benefit from playing at a club with slightly lower expectations.Accordingly, there have been murmurs in the press recently about the possibility of Badstuber leaving Bayern on loan in mid-season. Stuttgarter Zeitung (in German) reported on the possibility of the defender moving to struggling Stuttgart.Guardiola may publicly oppose the idea of loaning Badstuber, but the trainer is wise enough to know what is best for the team and its direction. This is the same man who, a few months after praising Dante to the heavens, was willing to offload the Brazilian to direct rivals Wolfsburg while leaving precious few options in central defense.The question is whether Badstuber will convince enough between now and the winter break to stay at Bayern and contend for a starting role, or if he won't be up to the task early on and would be better off leaving the club for half a year to earn regular playing time in an environment with less pressure.Badstuber took important first steps in his recovery over the weekend and now has some time to recover and continue to work on his fitness.When Bayern resume action after the international break, the defender will have approximately one month to prove he's ready to play for the Bundesliga champions and help the club in their aspirations to win titles on three fronts.It will be the most crucial and tricky spell of his career since the knee injuries.@Mr_Bundesliga
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