The captain's on board! Manuel Neuer will make the trip to Berlin for Wednesday's DFB Cup last 16 tie against Hertha BSC (preview). The Germany goalkeeper missed the weekend's Bundesliga match at Bayer Leverkusen after suffering a hand injury last week, but the 32-year-old took part in training on Tuesday and is in the squad for the game in the capital.
As well as Neuer, coach Niko Kovac also welcomes back Thiago and Franck Ribéry. Thiago sat out the last game with a muscular problem, while Ribéry is fit again following the muscle fibre tear he sustained at the training camp in Doha a month ago.
Robben, Sanches and Tolisso staying in Munich
The record cup winners will be missing three players in Berlin, though. One of them is Arjen Robben, who is yet to shake off a persistent thigh problem. "He's still not quite feeling 100 percent, so he's not an option," confirmed Kovac on Tuesday.
The same goes for Renato Sanches, who, according to Kovac, felt some pain in his ankle after the Leverkusen game which has forced him to sit out training. Meanwhile, Corentin Tolisso is due to resume running during the week as he continues to work on his comeback from the cruciate ligament injury he suffered in September.
Hertha with personnel problems of their own
As for the home side, they could be missing a key player in Arne Maier. The midfielder sat out training on Monday and is a doubt for the last 16 clash. Long-term absentees Javairô Dilrosun, Mathew Leckie, Derrick Luckassen, Julius Kade and Peter Pekarík remain sidelined.
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