There are plenty of stories of players who rose the ranks from non-league football to the top of the game, but have you heard the one about the fourth-division defender who found himself called up for a trip to Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium?

It sounds like a fairy tale, but in the case of Bayern Munich's Nicolas Feldhahn it is actually happening.

Sitting on the back row, beside Tom Starke, Feldhahn can be seen on Bayern's flight to Madrid in this tweet from Mats Hummels

The 30-year-old's career has been spent largely in the lower leagues, with 40 games in Bundesliga 2 and 214 in the third tier. His poster may not be plastered on countless fans' walls, yet he could be the man tasked with taming World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday night.

With doubts still surrounding the fitness of Bayern's regular central defenders Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels, coach Carlo Ancelotti has been forced to delve into his side's reserve team, who play in Germany's fourth tier, to find cover at the back for the Bavarians' decisive UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg with Real Madrid.

Follow our blow-by-blow coverage of Real vs Bayern here.

Javi Martinez is suspended and while Xabi Alonso knows the ropes – as do David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich if needs be – Feldhahn has also been drafted in as extra cover. Ten days after heading to Memmingen for a 1-1 draw with Bayern's reserves, he is on his way to Madrid; from the Bayernliga to the Bernabeu.

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