"His private life is rotten, so he has been punished by heaven."

Bayern Munich announced on the 30th (Korea time) via the club's website that Hiroki Ito has suffered a metatarsal fracture. Medical examination results confirmed that the right metatarsal fracture has recurred. Ito was injured during the match against St. Pauli, which Bayern won 3-2 yesterday. He came on in the 58th minute but had to leave the field in the 89th minute, and he will now be unable to play for an extended period.

Bayern defeated St. Pauli 3-2 in the 27th round of the 2024-2025 Bundesliga held on the 29th at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. Kim Min-jae, returning from injury, played the full 90 minutes to contribute to the team’s victory. With this, Bayern maintained sole possession of first place with 65 points, still 6 points ahead of second-place Bayer Leverkusen (59 points). This is an opportunity to reclaim the trophy lost to Leverkusen, which achieved the 'first unbeaten championship in Bundesliga' last season.

However, Ito's injury has come as a painful blow. According to Germany's Bild, he will need about 3 months to recover and has been confirmed to be out for the season. Having already injured the same area for the third time, the rehabilitation process could further extend the period of his injury. After the match, Max Eberl, the Director General of Bayern, noted, "Ito has suffered another serious injury. It's a big shock for all of us. He had just completed rehabilitation after being out for months, and now he is expected to be sidelined for a long time again," he sighed.

Eberl also said, "I cannot imagine how Ito feels. He will receive all the support he needs from us. He is a fighter, and we expect him to return to the field. Keep your head up, Hiroki. Bayern is on your side," adding, "We have lost our third defender in a short time following the injuries to Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano. Now, we will need to gather even more strength to continue moving toward our goals."

Germany's TZ reported that "Ito began running again two months after injuring his metatarsal during the preseason. However, he faced setbacks in early October and had to undergo surgery again," stating, "It seems clear that the intensity of his training increased too quickly and too much. Especially, it was known that Ito had been struggling with metatarsal fractures even before his transfer to Bayern."

Ito has unfortunately become completely injury-prone. The Japanese national team defender joined Bayern after leaving VfB Stuttgart last summer. The transfer fee is reported to be €30 million (approximately 47.7 billion won), with a contract period until the summer of 2028.

Ito was expected to be an excellent multi-resource player at Bayern. He can play as a left-back and center-back, as well as occasionally as a defensive midfielder. Ito is tall at 188 cm and has a top speed reaching 34 km/h. Most importantly, his ability to utilize his left foot for build-up and ball control is his greatest strength.

There were high expectations in Japan that Ito could win the starting competition against Kim Min-jae. However, the reality was different. He collapsed during a preseason match in July last year due to a metatarsal fracture and underwent surgery. In November, while preparing to return, he faced a recurrence of issues and had to undergo a second surgery.

Ito only made his Bayern debut in February after 7 months, participating in the match against Celtic. He gradually increased his playing time afterward, alternating between substitutions and starting positions. However, he has once again injured the same area, leading to an extended absence. Ito, appearing to feel the seriousness of the situation, was seen putting on his jersey backwards and covering his face with both hands upon being substituted.

The issue is that Bayern has already lost both Davies and Upamecano. Japanese 'Higashi Sports' expressed concern regarding Ito's injury, emphasizing, "Germany is also paying attention to the fact that Ito has collapsed again with an injury to the same area. In the absence of Ponz, it was likely that he would be a key player, but he is facing injuries one after another." In this article, Japanese netizens expressed regret, stating, "It seems the problem lies with the shoes. It looks like he keeps suffering from fatigue fractures due to ill-fitting shoes."

Other netizens reacted, saying, "It's unfortunate that he is injured during the preseason and matches, then returns only to collapse again," or "There may be no place for a player who gets injured this frequently in Bayern."

However, there is also a cold reaction towards Ito in Japan, as his image is already negative due to his infidelity. He has previously been embroiled in controversies over personal issues, such as coercing an abortion in Japan. One netizen sarcastically commented, "Honestly, I don't want to say it's karma, but it certainly looks that way. If he had lived a good life, perhaps he wouldn't have sustained such injuries."

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