Kraft and Gomez left nursing injuries
26.04.2011
The end of the season is fast approaching, with the honours in the Bundesliga soon to be handed out. Borussia Dortmund (69 points) remain in pole position for the title, and the automatic Champions League spot for the team in second is all but certain to go to Bayer Leverkusen (64 points). There remains a lively battle for third, and the associated qualifying berth in Europe’s elite club competition.
Hannover 96 moved onto 57 points last weekend and have their noses in front of Bayern (56), who were unable to come away with more than a point from a 1-1 draw in Frankfurt, thus swapping places with the men from Lower Saxony for the fourth time. FCB’s declared goal is third spot, “so it's a psychologically awkward situation for us. But we still 100 percent believe we can do it,” commented director of sport Christian Nerlinger.
Gomez pleased with ‘very high morale'
“If we win our last three games, we’ll finish third. But we really will have to win them,” said top scorer Mario Gomez, describing a season of ups and downs as “a roller-coaster ride. Once again, hitting our target is no longer in our own hands.” The 25-year-old still saw plus points in the display against Frankfurt: Munich went a goal down, “but our morale remained high,” he reflected.
After a rest day on Easter Monday, the stars resumed training on Tuesday ahead of Saturday evening’s home meeting with Schalke. The squad appeared focused and determined in front of a huge 4,000 crowd at the Säbener Strasse training facility, where the practice match homed in on an area of weakness in last Saturday’s league display, namely shooting accuracy.
Kraft and Gomez with minor injuries
The squad supervised by caretaker boss Andries Jonker in the two-hour workout was shorn of a clutch of players. Apart from longer-term absentees Ivica Olic (rehab after knee surgery) and Hamit Altintop (back), none of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose or Breno took part in the session. The trio reported to fitness specialist Thomas Wilhelmi for a tailored workout, but all three are expected to resume the squad programme shortly.
Danijel Pranjic has shaken off a hamstring strain and completed a light programme of jogging and coordination exercises on Tuesday. The main session ended with a moment of concern, as Thomas Kraft and Gomez both collected injuries in an accidental collision. The striker sustained a bruised knee, while Kraft required stitches after leaving the field with blood streaming from a cut above his left eye. However, neither man is considered doubtful for Saturday’s Schalke clash.
Credit: FC Bayern Munich (www.fcbayern.t-com.de)
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