MUNICH -- Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti has criticised the overloaded fixture calendar after revealing that he has several injury problems ahead of Saturday's game at Borussia Dortmund.
Arjen Robben and Javi Martinez are both unavailable, while Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costa will both need fitness tests after flying back from World Cup qualifying duty in South America.
Robben was substituted at half-time in Netherlands' 3-1 win in Luxembourg, his first game for his country in over a year. Despite Bayern stressing in midweek that Robben's muscle injury wasn't "anything serious," Ancelotti confirmed that he would be missing this weekend.
"Martinez, Robben and Kingsley Coman are unavailable and we'll need to check out Vidal and Costa in training today," Ancelotti told his prematch news conference.
"We have problems because of the internationals. A lot of teams, not just us, have problems at the moment with players coming back injured from their national teams.
"Everyone has to understand that the most important thing is the players' health. The schedule of the European calendar is too busy with too many games for the players.
"I'm only a manager, not a politician, but we need to find a solution in order to take care of the health of the players."
According to Ancelotti, Costa and Vidal were both "tired" after returning from South America after being in action with Brazil and Chile respectively. Vidal was substituted in both matches because of injury.
"We spoke with Vidal after the first game against Colombia," Ancelotti added. "Their doctor checked him out, giving him the all-clear to play against Uruguay.
"As far as I know he hasn't pulled a muscle and is okay, else he wouldn't have played against Uruguay. It was a vitally important game for Chile and it was deemed highly necessary that he play.
"We'll check him out at training. He's obviously exhausted from his travels and we'll have to see whether he can play on Saturday."
Ancelotti did have some positive news, telling reporters that Franck Ribery is ready to return. Ribery hasn't played for the German champions since the end of September after picking a muscle injury in training.
"He's trained very well, he's in good shape and can play tomorrow," he said. "His quality and experience is important for the team."