Arjen Robben needs to get healthy
- Chuck Smith
- Feb 15, 2019
- 2 min read
As Arjen Robben slowly winds down his time with Bayern Munich, one of the club's true legends is languishing on the sidelines hampered by a lingering thigh injury that has kept him out of action since November.
The Dutch star was supposed to be finishing off his career in Bavaria with a bang by helping the club battle in the Champions League, while also assisting in the team in trying to lock down Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles. That plan, unfortunately, has not quite worked out thanks to a balky thigh.
Robben's injury has not only taken him out of the mix for playing time, but has also robbed Bayern fans of getting a last look at one of the best players to have ever suited up for Die Roten. The mysterious nature of the injury and why it has continued to nag the veteran has not been publicly explained, but it has sure taken its toll on the frustrated Dutchman.
As Robben explained to Bild:
"It’s still not good. We are trying everything, but at the moment it is not so good. Unfortunately, that’s exactly the problem, that you do not know exactly what it is. It’s really difficult. It’s very, very frustrating. You know, you try everything, you do everything. But at the moment, nothing good comes out. I was twice really close, I was back with the team. But then there were setbacks again."
Robben's future also remains open for discussion with links to PSV Eindhoven, FC Groningen (his boyhood club), Inter Milan, and perhaps most outlandishly, FC Tokyo. There is even the grassroots movement started right here to bring the star to the Philadelphia Union (Okay, admittedly, we are STILL waiting for Robben and/or the Union to address this...but we will NEVER STOP THE CAMPAIGN!). Wherever he goes, he will undoubtedly show he still has at least a little gas left in his tank.
In any event, it is certain that the last way that Robben wanted to play out his swan song in Munich was on the trainer's table. After such a tremendous decade in Bavaria, the legend, Bayern supporters, and Bundesliga fans in general should have the opportunity to see him "cut in" one final time.
Health-permitting, there is at least some hope the Dutchman will reign terror down the right flank at least a few more times this season, but hopefully that occurs sooner rather than later. It's not often that a player of this quality gets a chance to play out his career in this manner. The veteran deserves an active finish and the fans should be given the privilege to watch him close out a very successful chapter in his career on the field and not in the training room.
The only way Robben should finalize his time in Munich is walking off the pitch to the roar of the crowd. Any other finish will just be disappointing and unfitting for the man known as Mr. Wembley.
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