FOOTBALL NEWS FROM CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Hummels fitness boost for BVB
Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels has declared himself fit for a showpiece all-German Champions League final with Bayern Munich and wants to show that his club is the place to be.
Hummels suffered an ankle injury last Saturday but is prepared to risk the knock at Wembley.
"It was not just a scare, it was a bit more but I am able to play. The ankle is not as it was before the injury but it is acceptable to play," he told a press conference on Friday.
Tests showed he had strained rather than tore the ankle against Hoffenheim. Dortmund's attacking midfielder Mario Gotze, who will join Bayern this summer, has already been ruled out of the Wembley final with a muscle injury.
"When I turned the ankle it was a shock moment for me," Hummels said. "I know this injury from the past but when I saw on Sunday that it was not as swollen as before I became more optimistic."
Gotze's departure has led to speculation that Dortmund's players will be picked off by the super-rich Bavarians but Hummels said that a Dortmund win could change minds.
"I don't think we're going to get worse as a result," Hummels said. "And they're not going to get worse either if they pick any of our players.
"It's just going to be our last opportunity to beat Bayern this season. It would be fantastic if we did manage it, just to show the players who think they might like to go down to Munich that they'd be missing out on something."
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Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels has declared himself fit for a showpiece all-German Champions League final with Bayern Munich and wants to show that his club is the place to be.Hummels suffered an ankle injury last Saturday but is prepared to risk the knock at Wembley.
"It was not just a scare, it was a bit more but I am able to play. The ankle is not as it was before the injury but it is acceptable to play," he told a press conference on Friday.
Tests showed he had strained rather than tore the ankle against Hoffenheim. Dortmund's attacking midfielder Mario Gotze, who will join Bayern this summer, has already been ruled out of the Wembley final with a muscle injury.
"When I turned the ankle it was a shock moment for me," Hummels said. "I know this injury from the past but when I saw on Sunday that it was not as swollen as before I became more optimistic."
Gotze's departure has led to speculation that Dortmund's players will be picked off by the super-rich Bavarians but Hummels said that a Dortmund win could change minds.
"I don't think we're going to get worse as a result," Hummels said. "And they're not going to get worse either if they pick any of our players.
"It's just going to be our last opportunity to beat Bayern this season. It would be fantastic if we did manage it, just to show the players who think they might like to go down to Munich that they'd be missing out on something."