Schweinsteiger and Ribery to miss Porto clash

The Bundesliga champions must cope without two of their key men for the European meeting at the Estadio do Dragao

Bayern Munich duo Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery have been ruled out of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Porto.

With a number of first-team players already missing the trip to Portugal, including Arjen Robben, David Alaba and Javi Martinez, Bayern boss Pep Guardiola had been hoping for some good news ahead of the quarter-final first leg.

But he will have to do without midfielder Schweinsteiger and winger Ribery with the former suffering from a virus and the latter still struggling with an ankle problem.

Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer told a press conference: “Bastian and Franck can’t play, that’s too bad.

“But we have complete faith in the players that we have available. Everyone knows the situation and the team have a real hunger.”

Defender Jerome Boateng does return, however, and striker Claudio Pizarro will also travel later today. Xabi Alonso is available following a one-match suspension.

Bayern warmed up for their return to Champions League action with a 3-0 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, a result which maintained their 10-point advantage over Wolfsburg at the top of the Bundesliga.

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