Bayern Munich has revealed Franck Ribery is only set to be sidelined for a week after damaging his ankle in training Sunday, allaying fears the injury might have been more serious.
Ribery had to be helped from the pitch after hurting his left ankle at the club's Sabener Strasse training facility but Bayern chief medical officer Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, after examining the player, confirmed the 28-year-old France winger had suffered only a sprained ankle.
According to Bayern's official website, the injury will keep Ribery out of this week's Audi Cup but he could be fit for the club's first competitive match of the season, the DFB Cup fixture at Eintracht Braunschweig on August 1.
Ribery, who has been plagued by fitness problems over the past few seasons - including rupturing the ligaments in his left ankle in 2008 - feared the worst.
"I had bad luck, but once again, I've been fortunate too. At the moment it happened, I was really scared. I thought the ligaments were torn. I pulled out of a challenge, but then I heard a crack from my foot," he said on the club's official website.
