Forty-eight hours ahead of the UEFA Cup Round of 32 return against Aberdeen, superstar winger Franck Ribéry remains a doubtful starter for Bayern. The French international, sidelined for ten days so far with a torn hamstring, was unable to resume the squad programme on Tuesday and appears increasingly unlikely to face the Dons at the Allianz Arena on Thursday evening.
“It’ll be a very, very close-run thing,” Bayern assistant coach Michael Henke informed fcbayern.de. Ribéry spent Tuesday morning working out under the supervision of fitness coach Thomas Wilhelmi, but a return to the team programme has been ruled out until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest. “We’re not prepared to take any risks,” Henke continued.
Schweinsteiger sits out session
Zé Roberto failed to complete the squad workout on Tuesday, breaking off the session after an hour, but Henke said there was no cause for concern. The 33-year-old Brazilian leads the way in appearances for the club this season, “and we don’t want to overburden him,” the assistant boss explained.
Bastian Schweinsteiger sat out the session in its entirety with a tight calf, “but it was merely precautionary,” commented Henke, who expects both midfielders to be fully fit for the meeting with the side lying eighth in the Scottish Premier League.
Demichelis and Breno sidelined
By contrast, Martin Demichelis is a definite non-starter. The Argentine defender faces another ten or so days on the sidelines with a muscle strain. Winter signing Breno is also out of contention for Thursday. The 18-year-old has recovered from a stomach virus but was restricted to a workout on the exercise bike on Tuesday.
Topics of this article