There was little else Miroslav Klose could do but watch as his team-mates contested an informal practice match against a team of reserves on Thursday. From his vantage point on the first floor of the Säbener Strasse performance centre, the striker gazed intently through the window at the training ground action below, undoubtedly yearning to play an active role himself. However, the Germany goal-getter was obliged to sit out this particular session.
Klose’s brief spell on the sidelines was caused by a knock to the left knee sustained in training a couple of days ago. The centre-forward will undergo a fitness test on Friday before a final decision on his availability for Sunday’s Bundesliga clash at home to Borussia Dortmund.
Chance for Landon or Lukas?
“I want to resume training with the squad tomorrow. We’ll see if the knee reacts, and whether it makes sense for me to play on Sunday,” Klose reported. Should the 30-year-old be unable to feature against BVB, Landon Donovan could be in line for a first competitive start with Bayern. Lukas Podolski may also return to contention after injury.
With or without Klose, the Bayern stars are desperate for a good result against Dortmund to make amends for last Friday’s defeat in the first league fixture after the mid-season break. “It’ll be a very different match compared to Hamburg. We’ll show another side to our character,” promised defender Martin Demichelis, still smarting from the unnecessary 1-0 loss to the northerners.
“We didn’t show up for the first half in Hamburg,” the Argentine lamented, “perhaps we’ll have learned our lesson from that.” The centre-half is convinced there will be no repeat against Borussia at the Allianz Arena. “We’ll get stuck in right from the start, we’ll be totally aggressive, and we’ll take all three points,” he declared.
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