Götze cleared to step up training load

Mario Götze left the Trentino training camp as planned on Tuesday evening, and there was good news from Munich the following day, as the new arrival was cleared to start running exercises. Götze had earlier reported to chief medical officer Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt for an MRI scan on his injured hamstring, “and the damaged muscle is looking very, very good," the player exclusively told fcbayern.de.

Board director for sport Matthias Sammer expressed approval: “Mario's recovery is bang on track and we're very happy." In the afternoon, Götze took a first tentative jog at the Säbener Strasse facility. “I’ve been restricted to the exercise bike for a long time, so it's good to be back out on the field," commented the former Dortmund man, “I'm now going to continue my sports rehab programme in peace and quiet."

Key duo on road to recovery

Dr Müller-Wohlfahrt has been asked to supervise a gradual increase in the player's training load on a daily basis. Sammer hopes Götze might be able to take up the squad programme in a couple of weeks. “We'll have to wait and see if it's possible," the midfielder himself said.

Wednesday also saw Bastian Schweinsteiger with the ball back at his feet, after the vice-captain spent the previous two days on a series of running exercises. “It's looking very, very good for him too," commented Sammer, “it was the right decision to have him come back [from Trentino] with Dr Müller-Wohlfahrt and Gerry Hoffmann. We can give him the best treatment possible in Munich." The board director hopes Schweinsteiger “can resume squad training as planned next Monday, provided it all keeps going so well."