Ribery hopeful of Bayern return

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery is hopeful of returning to competitive football when his side host Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

Ribery returned to training on Thursday ahead of the club’s Bundesliga fixture at the weekend, as Bayern look to extend their 13-point lead at the top of the table.

The Frenchman – who finished third in the 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or vote – has not made a competitive appearance in 2014.

His only outing this year came in a 2-0 friendly win over Al Merreikh on January 9, with muscular problems sidelining him since.

“I hope that I can play on Sunday against Frankfurt,” Ribery told Bild.

“We (did) not want to take any risks (hence my recent absence).”

Ribery last played a Bundesliga match on December 14, but he did help the European champions to victory in the FIFA Club World Cup after that.