On 14 September 2005, Heinze was injured in a UEFA Champions League match with Villarreal and was ruled out of first-team action for the rest of the campaign. Previously, he had scored two goals in the same competition, the 3–0 second-leg qualifier away win over Debreceni. He made a comeback with the reserve team in April 2006, but a minor injury picked up in his third game back prevented him from making a first-team appearance before the end of the season. The consequence of this injury was the signing of Patrice Evra, who went on to become the club's first-choice left-back in the following years.