Ribery eyes pre-Christmas comeback for Bayern

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery is optimistic over his prospects of making a first-team return before the Bundesliga’s winter break.

The France star has not featured for Pep Guardiola’s men since March as a result of an ankle problem sustained against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

He appeared to suffer a setback in training on Thursday, withdrawing from a running drill 17 minutes into the session.

But the 32-year-old remains upbeat about his prospects of resuming competitive football before the end of 2015, after a tough period both physically and mentally.

“I am feeling much better,” Ribery told Sky Deutschland. “I can even smile a little bit.

“I fought a lot because it was a hard situation for me – especially mentally. But that’s football.

“You must always keep your head high. I have to work a lot because I have lost a lot of muscles in my calf.

“But it’s slowly getting better. And that’s great. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll be with the team before the winter break.”