Der Klassiker won´t distract Bayern from DFB-Pokal tie – Kovac

Niko Kovac insists Bayern Munich will not be distracted by the looming Klassiker when they face Heidenheim in Wednesday’s DFB-Pokal quarter-final.

A 1-1 draw at Freiburg saw the Bundesliga champions slip to second in the table behind Borussia Dortmund, who earned themselves a two-point cushion thanks to Paco Alcacer’s late brace in a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg.

The top two meet on Saturday at the Allianz Arena but Kovac is adamant that his side’s attention will not be diverted from the visit of second-tier Heidenheim before that.

“I am able to hide the Dortmund game,” he told a media conference. “And I told my players, it is not relevant now what will happen next weekend. We want to reach the semi-final. BVB comes after this game.

“My focus is on Heidenheim. This is my next job. The match against Dortmund is on Saturday and the game on Wednesday hopefully gives us a positive feeling for the Dortmund game.”

Meanwhile, Kovac has confirmed that Corentin Tolisso is making good progress on his recovery from an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury and could feature before the end of the season.

Another step closer @CorentinTolisso #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/8BA3C60vTx

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) April 1, 2019

Tolisso has been sidelined since suffering the injury against Bayer Leverkusen on September 15.  

“He is making good progress, we are very satisfied with that,” Kovac said. “He looks very smooth, has no problems and his knee is in absolute top shape.

“We will now increase the intensity step by step. He has to confirm how he feels every day. How his knee feels, but also how he feels mentally.

“And I hope he can play some minutes this season, to get his feeling back for the pitch, the opponents, the stadium and the pressure.”