Two days ahead of the Bundesliga clash away to Leverkusen, Bayern physios Fredi Binder, Stephan Weickert, Gianni Bianchi and Florian Göttl literally have their hands full, as a number of the FCB stars have returned from international duty with aches, pains and strains. There is even a question mark over the fitness of Franck Ribéry and Holger Badstuber for Saturday.
In the aftermath of France's victory over Germany, Ribéry is nursing a badly bruised thigh, Jupp Heynckes told reporters. The coach summoned his team to the Rhineland on Thursday to optimise the otherwise inadequate preparation time for the Leverkusen fixture. Badstuber, who has a back problem, was substituted at half-time in the Germany versus France clash, just like club-mate Ribéry.
Wait-and-see approach
“He could hardly run anymore," reported France coach Laurent Blanc after Ribéry picked up a painful dead leg early in the match. “We'll have to wait and see how it goes with regeneration training," commented Heynckes. Apart from the French winger and Badstuber, Thomas Müller (hamstring) and Jerome Boateng (back) are also minor doubts for the Bundesliga showdown.
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