The Bayern Munich winger damaged an ankle in the 7-0 Champions League thrashing of Shakhtar Donetsk on March 11 and has not featured since.
An attempt to return to training prematurely only exacerbated the
problem and Ribery is now facing another spell on the sidelines.
Speaking exclusively to Goal, he said: “At the start
of the week it was bad and I could not do anything. Only on Wednesday
was I able to ride a bike again. This injury came at a terrible time, I
was just getting in form. Now I have had to stop for three weeks.
"The problem was I started to train again after the Shakhtar match
too soon; that was a mistake. There are many important matches coming
and I hope I can help the team.“
Saturday’s Klassiker against Borussia Dortmund at
Signal Iduna Park was never a likely return date for Ribery, whose
absence has been compounded for Bayern by injuries to fellow widemen
Arjen Robben and David Alaba.
“I have no chance [of playing against Dortmund],” he added. “I can't
even run. I tried last week and was in pain immediately. This situation
is difficult, but I have to be at 100 per cent first. This is important,
looking at the upcoming challenges.“
Bayern take on Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals of the
DFB-Pokal on Wednesday and travel to Porto for the first leg of their
last-eight Champions League tie a week later.
Ribery refused to put a timescale on his recovery and admitted he will have a better idea of a return date after the weekend.
He said: “The next days will show what the chances are [of playing
against Leverkusen]. The important thing is to start running again
without pain. Only then am I able to work with more intensity and work
with the team again. I need time, but we don't have it. I must be
patient.
“We have two big matches ahead of us. Dortmund know how to win
against us and the cup match in Leverkusen is even more important. Two
good results would be good heading into the Champions League. We need to
have confidence and we must not underestimate Porto.“
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