F.Ribery fit for Werder Bremen clash

F.Ribery fit for Werder Bremen clash

Franck Ribery insists he is fit and ready to make his first Bundesliga appearance of the season for Bayern Munich in Saturday's Allianz Arena clash with Werder Bremen.

The France midfielder was given 25 minutes of action for his national team in midweek despite not having kicked a ball for his club this campaign due to a knee injury.

Now he is looking forward to getting back on the field again for Bayern.

"It did me good to be able to play for France again," he said of Wednesday's 1-0 win over the Faroe Islands.

"Even though I was not 100%, it gives me confidence for the future and reassures me because I have not been able to play any games for Bayern.

"Now I will dedicate myself totally to my club. I will be fit."

Bayern coach Louis van Gaal does not intend to use Ribery for more than 20 minutes, and seems set to make just one other change to the side which started the season with a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim.

Mark van Bommel is ruled out for up to four weeks with a broken toe. His place should be given to Anatoliy Tymoschuk while his captain's armband will be passed on to Philipp Lahm.

When Werder travelled to Munich last season, they claimed an emphatic 5-2 victory.

The scorer of both of Bayern's consolation goals on that occasion was Tim Borowski, who has returned to Bremen this summer after a disappointing year spent mostly on the bench in Bavaria.

He would like nothing more than to score another brace for Werder this year, although he insists he would not celebrate, despite rarely feeling at home in Munich.

"It is part of the code of honour that you don't celebrate against your former club," he told Kicker magazine.

Bremen's priority will be to prevent Bayern from scoring, although with such a makeshift defence, that is not going to be easy.

Naldo will again miss out due to injury while Sebastian Prodl is suspended. Sebastian Boenisch has not recovered from his back problem either, meaning coach Thomas Schaaf is down to his last four defenders.

Petri Pasanen will partner Germany international Per Mertesacker in the centre of the defence with Dusko Tosic set to make his first start of the season on the left.