Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jerome Boateng expected to make Germany return
Wednesday 2 March 2016 13:59, UK
Germany national team general manager Oliver Bierhoff has backed both captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and defender Jerome Boateng to recover from injury in time to play at this summer's European Championship.
Schweinsteiger, 31, has been sidelined since the start of January with a torn medial ligament, but the Manchester United midfielder expects to be playing again by late March.
Bayern Munich centre-back Boateng has been out since January with a torn groin and is not expected to return until April.
But Bierhoff remains confident the duo will be back in time for this summer's tournament, which start in France on June 10.
"I am 100 percent convinced that Jerome will manage it. He's very professional," he said.
"And also with an experienced player like Bastian Schweinsteiger, I also don't have any big concerns.
"Perhaps it is even a good thing if he doesn't have 60 games under his belt before a European championships."
However, Bierhoff says he expects centre-back Holger Badstuber to miss the competition, as he recovers from a fractured ankle.
The 26-year-old Bayern star had surgery in mid-February and is not expected to play again this season. It was his fourth serious injury since December 2012.
He first tore his right cruciate ligament in December 2012, only to repeat the injury in the same leg the following May.
He was out for a total of 642 days and only returned in January 2015, but then tore his left thigh in April last year before making his comeback in November.
"I see the chances of Holger being very low," said Bierhoff.
All three are out of Germany's home friendlies later against England in Berlin on March 26 and Italy in Munich on March 29.
