German football magazine kicker has raised questions over the diagnosis of Holger Badstuber's thigh injury, with the defender needing surgery after another setback.
Badstuber, 26, suffered the injury in last Tuesday's 6-1 second-leg victory over Porto in the Champions League quarterfinals, with the club announcing the defender's muscle problem two days after the Allianz Arena clash.
The club said that the Germany international "suffered a rupture in the area of the frontal thigh muscles" -- Badstuber's second severe thigh injury of the season -- which prolongs a spell of bad luck that began when he tore his anterior cruciate ligaments in December 2013.
The centre-back, who is set to undergo surgery in Vail, Colorado this week, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, with the club saying that he faces a four-month injury lay-off.
This means that by the end of the ongoing Bundesliga year, Badstuber will have only featured in 22 of Bayern's last 102 league games.
On Monday, football weekly kicker asked why it took Bayern nearly two days to discover Badstuber's new injury.
Interessanter Text im @kicker_bl_li. Schmerzmittel der Grund für späten Badstuber-Befund? pic.twitter.com/bwpEs7sZ30
- dembowski (@uersfeld) April 27, 2015
"How can you not notice such a grave muscular injury during the match?" the paper asked, saying that the defender also took part in the warm-down on Wednesday, with former Bayern doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt only detecting the injury during a check-up on Thursday.
"It's evident that Badstuber did not feel the pain to the usual extent. Because he got injections before the match? Painkillers are part of the repertoire at Bayern, like at other clubs too," kicker continued, quoting the defender as telling them that he had "problems with his body" in the past weeks, which could have caused pain.
Meanwhile, Bayern coach Pep Guardiola has called former club doctor Muller-Wohlfahrt "an outstanding doctor." The 72-year-old walked out on Bayern with his entire staff after reportedly being held responsible for the 3-1 first-leg defeat at Porto earlier this month, though Bayern insist he was not held accountable.
"He is an outstanding doctor. But he left," Guardiola, who was rumoured to have clashed with Muller-Wohlfart on several occasions, said on ZDF TV on Saturday.
The Spaniard added that he has nothing against Bayern players such as Arjen Robben still trusting their old doctor, saying: "When they trust him, wonderful! When they want to undergo surgery in the United States, wonderful!
"All I want is that they return as fast as possible. When they are ruled out for eight weeks, I'd love to have them back after seven. That's all I want."