Football
Mark Lovell, Bayern Munich blogger 7y

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery on bench vs. Hamburg - Ancelotti

Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti said winger Franck Ribery will be back on the bench for the home game against Hamburg on Saturday but midfielder Xabi Alonso will not play.

Ribery, 33, has not featured since suffering a strained muscle in his right thigh during training on Jan. 31.

But Ancelotti, speaking ahead of the 1,000th game of his coaching career, told a news conference: "Ribery is ready.

"He's trained very well this week and he'll be on the bench tomorrow."

He said Alonso "had a small adductor problem on Wednesday" and added: "He won't be available tomorrow. He said he wasn't comfortable and not at 100 percent."

Ancelotti said the decision not to play Alonso had been made with Bayern's DFB Pokal quarterfinal against Schalke on Wednesday in mind.

"We have a lot of games coming up and there's no need to take any risks," he added. "But he'll be ready for Schalke."

Meanwhile, central defender Jerome Boateng is stepping up his comeback bid after undergoing an operation on a pectoral tendon on Dec. 20.

Ancelotti said: "Everything is going to plan. He doing well but it's still non-contact at the moment. We are waiting for the OK from the doctor for him to resume contact training."

The coach stressed that his side were entering a pivotal stage of the season as they prepared to take on struggling Hamburg.

"We have only 90 days until the end of the season. We have do our best in these 90 days," he said.

"I have lots of faith in my team -- they are in good condition, motivated and focused. Every game is highly important."

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