 Later in April 2013, he was sidelined as he suffered from an achilles tendon rupture.It wasn't until on 11 May 2013 when he made his return to the starting lineup, starting the whole game as captain, in a 2–1 win over Schalke 04.In the DFB-Pokal final, he captained Stuttgart for the match, which the club lost 3–2 to Bayern Munich.