[1] He started his career with Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart in 2000, before moving to La Liga club Sevilla in 2006.

After finishing second with VfB Stuttgart in the 2002–03 season, and already established as first-choice, Hinkel took part in Champions League for the first time in his career.

The following season, Hinkel won a Scottish League Cup winners medal after a 2–0 win over Rangers in the final.

[4] Hinkel played a vital part in Celtic's Champions League third qualifying round second-leg victory over Russian outfit Dinamo Moscow on 5 August 2009.

The match ended 2–0 to the Hoops with Hinkel assisting Scott McDonald for the opener then hitting a long hopeful punt up the pitch which Georgios Samaras latched onto before netting a last-minute winner.

[10] Hinkel has represented Germany on 21 occasions at senior level, making his debut in 2003 against Serbia and Montenegro.

[11] He was part of the German squad during Euro 2004 (having recovered from aforementioned knee injury), but missed the 2006 World Cup.

[12] Hinkel's international involvement was kept to a minimum when at Sevilla due to lack of first-team football and the emergence of Philipp Lahm as first-choice right-back ahead of him.

[27] On 14 October 2019, he joined Russian Premier League club FC Spartak Moscow as an assistant to newly appointed manager Domenico Tedesco.

He left Spartak at the end of the 2020–21 season after helping to guide them to the UEFA Champions League qualification spot, as Tedesco's contract expired.