The defender is set for three months out of action after injuring his groin against Hamburg, and his team-mate told Goal they will find it impossible to replace him
He also spoke about the relief of seeing several other players return from long-term injuries to bolster the ranks over the second half of the season.
There are also a lot of players who have now come back from injuries," he added.
The good thing is that there aren’t midweek matches at the moment, so we can use this time to get into our stride.
For example, Holger Badstuber was absent for two years absent - to play every three days after that is difficult.
Javi Martinez was injured for a long time, too, and also Mehdi Benatia, David Alaba and Juan Bernat had minor problems.
I hope that these players get back to their best as fast as they can, because that will be important for the team."
- Goal