What had already been a rough start to 2019 for Franck Ribery got worse on Wednesday evening after the winger suffered a muscle tear in his right thigh during an internal training match at Bayern Munich's winter training camp in Doha.

The club announced the news in a statement on Thursday morning, but did not say how long the 35-year-old Frenchman was expected to be out of action. Bayern resume play on January 18, when they travel to Hoffenheim.

The defending Bundesliga champions, who are already without Arjen Robben (thigh) and Corentin Tolisso (cruciate ligament), enter the second half of the season in second place, six points behind Borussia Dortmund.

Ribery caused an uproar last week when he responded with an expletive-filled rant to criticism for eating a gold-coated steak served at a restaurant in Dubai. The club responded to the incident by imposing what sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic described as a "hefty" fine on the player.

pfd/mp (AFP, dpa)