Badstuber completes part of squad session
It was raining, but it felt as if the Bayern pros were training in radiant sunlight on this grey October morning. After being sidelined for five months Holger Badstuber took up parts of the team training programme on Thursday, much to the delight of his team-mates. "We're all very happy that he's back," commented David Alaba. Badstuber subsequently completed an individual programme in the performance centre. The 26-year-old suffered a rupture in the frontal thigh muscles of his left leg during FCB's 6-1 victory over FC Porto in the Champions League quarter-final return on 21 April.
Bernat is back
Good news for Juan Bernat! The Spaniard, who missed out against Dortmund before the international break due to a groin problem, resumed the squad programme on Wednesday. A longer-term absentee, Jan Kirchhoff, has been back in team training since Monday after his recovery from Achilles surgery.
Bremen defender laid low by fever
Two days before the Bundesliga match against the Reds, Werder Bremen defender Jannik Vestergaard is rated doubtful: the centre-back called in sick with fever on Thursday. "Perhaps he can train on Friday. We still hope he's able to play," Bremen coach Viktor Skripnik said.