Bayern's Ito breaks foot again after only recent comeback

Munich: Bayern Munich defender Hiroki Ito suffered a broken metatarsal bone in his right foot for the second time in less than a year, just weeks after his comeback from the first injury, the Bundesliga leaders said on Sunday.

Ito, who broke his metatarsal back in July after arriving in Munich and only came back last month, was brought on in the 58th minute in Saturday's 3-2 win over St Pauli but was injured late in the game.

"He has suffered a recurrence of a fracture in his right metatarsal, a scan by the FC Bayern medical team has confirmed," the club said in a statement.

"Ito, who moved to Munich from VfB Stuttgart last summer, will be unavailable to Bayern for a lengthy period."

He is the third defender ruled out in past days following the injuries of Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies while on international duty just over a week ago.

Bayern, who lead the Bundesliga title race with a six-point advantage and seven matches remaining, face Inter Milan in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on April 8.

"The news of another serious injury to Hiroki hits us all very hard. He's only just battled back after months of rehab and will now be out for a long time again – we can barely imagine how he's feeling," Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl said in a statement.

"After the injuries to Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano, we've now lost a third defender in a short space of time. We will now pool our forces even more to continue pursuing our goals."