The World Cup winner missed Saturday’s Bundesliga triumph at Hoffenheim with gastroenteritis but has made a swift recovery
Philipp Lahm has revealed he is fit and ready to lead Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final, second-leg clash with Porto.
The former Germany international played in last week’s 3-1 loss at the Dragao but was then forced to sit out Saturday’s Bundesliga win at Hoffenheim after being struck down by gastroenteritis.
However, Lahm, speaking on the eve of the pivotal return clash at the Allianz, has revealed he is ready to play his part in what he believes will be a successful bid to overturn a two-goal deficit.
“I am fine and I will play,” the versatile midfielder told reporters. “The game is important and I am fit to play it.
“It will not be easy for us, but we have our fans with us and we will fight till the end.
“We will do everything to go through but an early goal would be perfect.
“We want to control the game – that is our style of play. We need a good balance in all our team, not just in the defence.
“We are a very good team and we have proven our quality several times in the last few years.
“It is vital that we stay calm. We have 90 minutes to score our goals.
“I am very confident and I am sure that we will go to the semi-finals.”
Lahm denied, though, that Bayern had been over confident heading into their first meeting with a Porto side that are yet to be beaten in this season’s Champions League.
“We did not underestimate Porto before the first leg,” the World Cup winner added. “But unfortunately Porto went 2–0 up very quickly.”
Bayern also expect to have Bastian Schweinsteiger available after recovering from an ankle knock, but Franck Ribery remains a doubt because of a similar issue.