Two days on from the 1-1 draw with Ajax in the Champions League, FC Bayern started preparing for their next assignment on Thursday morning. The record German champions end a busy three weeks with a home match against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday evening (kick-off 18:30 CEST) ahead of the upcoming international break.
Coach Niko Kovac welcomed 14 outfield players and three goalkeepers at Säbener Straße. Centre-back Mats Hummels sat out after suffering a cut in a collision during the closing stages of the Ajax game and is a doubt for Saturday's encounter with the fourth-placed Foals.
David Alaba was also absent from the training pitch on Thursday, with the left-back undertaking an individual session in the performance centre. Meanwhile, Rafinha is making progress from the ankle ligament injury he suffered in the Bundesliga game against Bayer Leverkusen. The Brazilian stepped up his rehabilitation on the pitch and could be available again after the international break. The training group was supplemented by young talents Paul Will and Meritan Shabani.
After three games without a win in all competitions, Bayern are determined to get back on track on Saturday. "Two points from three games overall is not enough, but luck comes back around," said captain Manuel Neuer, who's confident his team will soon be back to their usual selves.
"We need to roll up our sleeves now," demanded Kovac after the draw with Ajax. "I know what the deal is, that we haven't won for three games and we need to get back to basics. We need to quickly get back to playing how we did in the first seven games."
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