After a month-long injury break, Tim Kleindienst played three competitive games as a substitute for Borussia Mönchengladbach and collected his first minutes of action in the current season before the Gladbach captain complained again about knee problems. The striker has now had to undergo another surgical procedure.
As the Bundesliga club announced on its club website on Monday, Tim Kleindienst successfully underwent arthroscopic surgery on his recently recovered knee. VfL will miss him in the coming weeks.
According to Gladbach, there is no threat of a long-term loss, but it still means nothing less than a further setback for the ambitious center forward and for the entire Borussia team.
On the 11th matchday at the end of November, Tim Kleindienst returned to the pitch at his former club 1. FC Heidenheim after a month-long injury break. Two more short appearances followed in the Bundesliga against RB Leipzig and then in the DFB Cup against FC St. Pauli.
Encouraging words from sports director Schröder
But after the performance against the Kiezkicker, Kleindienst complained again about knee problems. A painful reaction now made another break inevitable. Further examinations finally brought certainty: a minimally invasive procedure was necessary to get the symptoms under control over the long term. The operation now appears to have been successful.
Borussia’s sports director Rouven Schröder assessed the situation openly: “It’s bitter for Tim and bitter for Borussia, but after such a long-term injury like Tim’s, you unfortunately have to expect things like this. Tim has worked his way through rehab in an exemplary manner over the last few months and will do the same this time. I’m sure we’ll see him back on the pitch in the foreseeable future.”