 He returned to the starting lineup against Hamburger SV on 21 October 2012, which saw Stuttgart won 1–0.A month later, on 22 November 2012, he scored his first goal for the club in a Europa League 5–1 win over Steaua București to help the club progress to the knockout stage.On 1 December 2012, he received a straight red card for a serious foul play on Milorad Peković in a 1–0 victory over SpVgg Greuther Fürth.