Lucas Hernandez has been out injured ever since November 22nd, when he tore his ACL during France’s opening group stage match of the World Cup in Qatar against Australia, which they won 4-1. It was a massive blow for Julian Nagelsmann and Bayern Munich as Hernandez had been on a positive run of form for the Rekordmeister in the buildup to the World Cup, but both Dayot Upamecano and Matthijs de Ligt have stood firm in the Frenchmen’s absence in the center of defense.
Hernandez had been dealing with a muscle injury earlier in the season that caused him to miss 10 separate matches across all competitions, but he had recovered before the World Cup break. That initial injury had temporarily derailed what was a strong start to the season across all three fronts. After recovering from that problem, he had featured in the wins over Hertha Berlin, Werder Bremen, and Schalke 04 before Bundesliga play paused for the tournament in Qatar.
In what may be deemed to be far too optimistic, or perhaps even wishful thinking, Hernandez wants to mark a return to action before this season ends. He’s only just sustained the ACL tear less than four months ago, but he has bold ambitions of being involved again before the 2022/23 campaign is all said and done, per Sport1’s Kerry Hau (as per @iMiaSanMia).
Bild had recently reported that Hernandez was roughly two months away from a return, which lines up with the end of the Bundesliga season. Of course, if Bayern was to make it for enough, the DFB-Pokal final is set to take place on June 3rd, while the Champions League final in Istanbul, Turkey is slated for June 10th. Both of the aforementioned dates would be after the two-month timetable that’s been touted for his injury return. He’s already resumed running on the pitch, which is a milestone step (no pun intended) in the right direction in terms of his recovery and getting back to fitness. Nagelsmann and Bayern need to be careful not to rush him back too quickly though, as previous injury returnees have proven, like Manuel Neuer when he tried to rush back from his metatarsal injury.
Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic also has hopes of sorting out a contract extension for Hernandez during the summer. The club wants to extend his contract beyond June 2024 despite his injury history with the club.