Ribery steps up Bayern recovery

Franck Ribery has stepped up his recovery from an ankle injury and is itching to play a part in Bayern Munich’s run-in.

The French winger picked up the problem in a 7-0 demolition of Shakhtar Donetsk on March 11 and has not played since.

Ribery has already confirmed that he will not play in the German champions’ clash with Borussia Dortmund in Saturday’s Klassiker.

However, the former Marseille man is hopeful of a return to action sooner rather than later.

“I’m feeling a bit better. Two days ago it wasn’t that good but now I trained on the bicycle and worked out,” he told Perform. 

“Obviously it wasn’t easy for me because I was in a good form before the match against Shakhtar Donetsk.

“The injury happened in a bad moment. I wondered that it was that bad, it’s been three weeks and very long for me.

“There are many important matches coming up and I hope that I will return to the team as soon as possible because we need all help we can get for those games and that’s important.”

Bayern face a testing schedule with a DFB-Pokal quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen and a Bungesliga encounter with Eintracht Frankfurt following the Dortmund fixture.

A UEFA Champions League quarter-final with Porto follows those matches and Ribery is hoping Bayern can build confidence ahead of their next European tie.

“With the game in Dortmund you know how it works. And then we have such an important game in Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal,” he added. 

“If you play two good games in Dortmund and Leverkusen it’s always nice for the self-esteem in the Champions League.”