Robben set for Bayern return with Bundesliga title imminent

Simon Foster 05:47 25/04/2015
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Returning: Arjen Robben.

    Arjen Robben could make his return after injury for Bayern Munich against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga today as the runaway league leaders look for what could be a title-clinching three points.

    Victory for Bayern coupled with second-placed Wolfsburg failing to win tomorrow would be enough for the Munich giants.

    Pep Guardiola’s side then host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in the semi-finals of the German Cup.

    Dutch winger Robben, 31, has not featured since suffering an abdominal injury against Shakhtar Donetsk in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on March 11, but he returned to training on Thursday and chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “The coach will decide whether to select him for Saturday or keep him until Tuesday.”

    Rummenigge also said that “everything was going well” for Javi Martinez, who is back in training after a long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, and added that defender Mehdi Benatia will be back “very soon”.

    However, fellow defender Holger Badstuber, who has suffered with so many injury problems in recent times, will miss the remainder of the season after tearing a thigh muscle in the 6-1 Champions League quarter-final second-leg win against FC Porto.

    Bayern said that the 26-year-old will undergo surgery in the coming days and will be out for “three to four months”.

    David Alaba will need a little longer after undergoing knee surgery, but Rummenigge expressed hope that Franck Ribery’s comeback will not be too far away with the Champions League semi finals coming up at the start of next month.

    “We need him. We have vital matches coming up and we need our best players on the pitch,” he said.

    Elsewhere, with only four points separating the league’s bottom five teams of Hamburg, Stuttgart, Paderborn, Hanover and Freiburg, the battle to stay up is set to go to the wire. Stuttgart host Freiburg, while Paderborn, who have won just once in eight, entertain Werder Bremen.

    After sacking Tayfun Korkut on Monday, Hanover play their first game under new coach Michael Frontzeck at home to mid-table Hoffenheim, who are chasing a Europa League berth.

    Hamburg, the only side in the Bundesliga never to have been relegated, are looking to prevent going 10 matches without a win when they host sixth-placed Augsburg. 

    Recommended