The international break is over and the training ground at Säbener Straße was filled up again on Thursday. Alongside Thiago and Robert Lewandowski, who were back from international duty, Niko Kovac was also able to welcome Mats Hummels back onto the pitch. The centre-back sat out the previous day’s session with an ankle problem. Other than Kingsley Coman, the only other absentee was David Alaba, who also returned to Munich on Thursday but put in an individual session in the performance centre.
Although he had nearly his full squad in training, the Bayern coach didn’t miss the opportunity to take part and get on the ball himself. “It gives the lads an added incentive,” Kovac explained a few weeks ago. The Croat now wants his team to turn their focus to their upcoming assignments. They face seven games in the space of 22 days, starting with Saturday’s match at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
The excitement among the team ahead of the busy period is high. “We’ve had the international break and we’ve all come back to the club full of motivation. We’ve started the season very well and we want to build on that,” Leon Goretzka told FC Bayern TV. The Germany international is also wary of the Werkself, though. “Leverkusen have a lot of individual quality in their squad. They’re capable of playing very good football. We need to prepare well and keep them in check.”
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