Robben out for two months

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP):

Bayern Munich's Dutch star Arjen Robben will be out for about two months with a thigh injury.

Bayern said yesterday that Robben had a torn muscle in his left thigh, the same injury he had before the World Cup that apparently never healed properly.

The latest setback means Robben will not be available for the start of the Bundesliga on August 20 and is likely to miss the opening round of the Champions League on September 14-15.

"It's a shock," Robben said. The 26-year-old winger said he was "just as surprised" as the club by the scope of the injury and the long break.

Robben returned to the club on Monday from a vacation following the World Cup and underwent a routine medical check, where the injury was diagnosed.

"It's a substantial injury," Bayern's doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt told Bild newspaper. "It was irresponsible that it had not been more precisely diagnosed in the Dutch national team and that they allowed him to play at the World Cup. I'd offered an examination several times but it was not taken."

Robben suffered a left hamstring injury shortly before the World Cup. He missed the Netherlands' first two games and made his debut in the last group game. The Dutch went all the way to the final, losing 1-0 to Spain after extra time.

During the tournament, Robben had said that the injury had not healed 100 per cent, but upon his return to Munich, he said he had felt good.

"I played four World Cup games and went through 120 minutes in the final. After the final I felt no pain and that's why I went on vacation."