Kovac won't rush Manuel Neuer back from latest injury
Sven Ulreich has the full confidence of Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer again ruled out by injury.
Manuel Neuer will not be rushed back to the Bayern Munich team after his latest injury blow, says coach Niko Kovac. Neuer was ruled out for two weeks after sustaining a calf injury in Bayern's last game, a Bundesliga win over Fortuna Dusseldorf. He is therefore out for Saturday's home league game against Werder Bremen, as well as the DFB-Pokal semi-final away to the same opposition four days later.
Ulreich back between the sticks
Sven Ulreich is in line to deputise for Neuer, as he did throughout last season when the Bayern captain was sidelined long-term with a foot injury. Kovac plans to give Neuer plenty of time to recover, while Mats Hummels and James Rodríguez are also injury doubts for the first Werder game.
"We will take no chances with Manuel, let him come back slowly," Kovac told reporters on Thursday. "Sven absolutely has our trust. He has earned this trust, we can always rely on him. I'm very, very optimistic. Mats is running, he feels good, we'll see if he can play against Werder on Saturday. If he's not 100 per cent fit, he will not play, we have [Jerome] Boateng, [Niklas] Sule is suspended in the cup, so we're reliant on Mats. James has trouble with his adductors, he's not sure if he can play, apart from Arjen Robben all are fit. [Corentin] Tolisso is making great strides and we have to see if he plays this season, depending on what the others are doing."
Bayern bounce back
Bayern have recorded 18 straight wins in all competitions. Rivals Bremen meanwhile, have been beaten in this fixture since 2010 when they managed to hold Bayern to a goalless draw. You have to go back even further for Bayern's last league defeat to Bremen - a 2-5 reverse in September 2008. Kovac's side can take a huge step towards a domestic double by extending that run further, but the coach is demanding full focus on staying clear of title rivals Borussia Dortmund.
"We only think of the Bundesliga match against Werder," Kovac added. "The DFB-Pokal is much further away and we will draw the necessary conclusions from the first game. If we implement all the principles and structures, it will be very difficult to score goals against us, but that is a prerequisite: we all have to join in."