Jamal Musiala could make his long-awaited comeback from serious injury when Bayern Munich travel to RB Leipzig on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Germany forward has been sidelined since suffering a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle at the Club World Cup in July.
Musiala has been back in full training for two weeks and boss Vincent Kompany said he is hopeful he will be available for the first time this season.
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«If everything goes well today, he’ll be there. That’s a great thing,» said Kompany at his pre-match news conference.
«He exudes a lot of positive energy. At the moment, even the little things are great. You appreciate everything much more. Jamal is experiencing that right now, as is Alphonso Davies. I want to protect both of them. The priority right now is integration.
«At some point, they’ll reach the level they were at before their injuries. When you play all the time, your fitness comes from playing. Now he’s had time to rebuild his body, strengthen his mobility and speed. That’s why injuries give you time to come back even stronger.»
However, the unbeaten league leaders do have selection problems, notably at right-back after Konrad Laimer suffered a calf injury.
The 28-year-old was taken off in stoppage-time of Bayern’s 3-1 victory over Cologne on Wednesday night.
Laimer underwent a scan in Munich on Thursday, which revealed he suffered a torn muscle in his left calf which will keep him out for a number of weeks.
With Josip Stanisic also absent, Joshua Kimmich, who missed out in Cologne, could be pressed back into action.
«We have a lot of absences at right-back, but we’ve solved that problem in the past,» added Kompany. «There are lots of other players who can play there. At the start of the season, we had a lot of absences at left-back.
«The lads will miss a few games, but it could have been worse. Josip Stanisic and Konrad Laimer will be back soon.
«We’re still assessing Joshua. He might even be able to play again tomorrow. We’ve got a bit of a puzzle to solve at the moment.»
Harry Kane scored a hat trick as Bayern Munich thrashed Leipzig 6-0 in the opening match of the season.
But Leipzig have since climbed to third in the Bundesliga, and captain David Raum told the club website: «We’re a completely different team to the one that played Bayern last time.
«We’re more stable and have better patterns with and without the ball. We’re playing at home and we’ll play with courage.»
