Ribery eyes Bayern return

Franck Ribery is targeting next month’s Bundesliga clash with Ingolstadt for his long-awaited comeback.

The Frenchman has not played for Bayern since March 11, when he scored in a 7-0 Champions League thrashing of Shakhtar Donetsk, due to an ankle injury but returned to training a fortnight ago.

And he is optimistic he can finally make his first-team return when Bayern face their local rivals at the Allianz Arena on December 12.

“I will try. I’ve done well in the last couple of weeks. I have worked on my conditioning and I hope I can join in with the team in training soon. At the moment, things are looking good,” he told reporters.

Asked if 15 minutes against Ingolstadt was possible, he added: “I hope so. At the minute, yes. My ankle is feeling good right now. I worked hard Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I did every exercise and it feels good.”

Table-topping Bayern have dropped just two points in 13 Bundesliga games this season and qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with few alarms.

Yet captain Philipp Lahm is keen to have former Marseille winger Ribery back in action.

“I believe he’ll be back soon. I see his progress and he is close to joining in with the team in training. It is nice to see him on the pitch with the ball at his feet. We haven’t seen that in a while,” he said.

“We know he is an excellent player, who has always been very important to this club’s success.

“You don’t have to push him. It has always been his passion to play football. So you don’t have to push him, but a nice word from time to time has helped him.”