Marco Höger’s season is over

FC Schalke 04’s bad luck with injuries continues: The Royal Blues will be without Marco Höger for the rest of the season. 

The 25-year-old has partially torn the lateral collateral ligament in his left ankle and so will miss the remaining matches of the campaign and the club’s fight to qualify for next season’s UEFA Europa League. 

Höger picked up the injury during the early stages of Friday’s 2-0 defeat against 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the Coface Arena. He had to be brought off after just 13 minutes.

Jurgen Klopp 'Not Interested' in Manchester City Job

​Jurgen Klopp will become one of the hottest managerial prospects available when he leaves Borussia Dortmund this season, but the charismatic German has dealt Manchester City and others a blow by refusing to be drawn on his future.

"I'm not interested in what the Premier League thinks of me," Klopp told the media this week, adding, "I'm just looking forward to the rest of our season."

The 47-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium in the summer, with suggestions that current City boss Manuel Pellegrini will lose his job as soon as a disappointing season is over.

The Chilean has been under constant pressure for months, but has regularly made it clear that he does not fear being sacked.

"You can't talk about decisions which are not your decisions but if you ask me why I'm not afraid; because there are two things in my whole career - I have never been a coward and I am not afraid," he said prior to defeat in the Manchester derby.

If City do find themselves in need of a new manager in the summer and Klopp isn't interested it remains to be seen where the Sky Blues will turn.

Pep Guardiola and Rafa Benitez have both also been ruled out of the running in the last few days, while many feel that current Under-21 manager Patrick Vieira is too inexperienced to take on the top job, even on a temporary basis.

City's rumoured plan had been to tempt Guardiola away from the Allianz Arena, but Bayern chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has rubbished the possibility.

"I can't imagine that Guardiola leaves for a club like Manchester City. I am sure that he will be team manager at Bayern at least until June 30, 2016," he earlier said this week.

"Our goal is to extend his contract. And I think we have good chances that he will still be our coach beyond 2016."

Marco Reus Pushing for Borussia Dortmund Return Against Frankfurt

Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus could return from injury this Saturday against Eintracht Frankfurt, according to the ​club's official website.

Reus has missed his side's last two Bundesliga games but returned to training on Wednesday. He is pushing to play in the clash, but manager Jurgen Klopp insisted that the 25-year-old will only play a part "if he is 100 percent fit".

Dortmund are targeting a place in the Europa League in the final weeks of the season, having seen fortunes turn since defeat to Augsburg in February. That loss left them at the bottom of the Bundesliga, but they have since gone on to win six of their last ten league matches and now sit in ninth place.

Should Reus not make it, Klopp instead suggested that Reus will be able to play in the DFB-Pokal fixture with Bayern Munich next week. He said: "Should he not make it on Saturday, it would be nice if we see him on Tuesday."

Klopp announced earlier this month that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season, and will be replaced by former Mainz boss Thomas Tuchel, but Klopp wants to achieve a seventh placed finish in the final weeks of the season to leave the club in a good position next term. 

The 47-year-old said about the end of season run in: "We have two opportunities to have a rather conciliatory end of season. The lads are on the right track. They want to leave their mark on the end of this season. They are focused, they are concentrating, but we would be crazy to bet everything on the cup.

"To finish seventh after hitting rock bottom wouldn't be that bad. But that's not interesting right now. The Frankfurt match is the most important of them all, and we are only focused on that."

DORTMUND'S PASSLACK HEADS U17 SQUAD FOR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

BVB's Felix Passlack will captain the U17s at the European Championship in Bulgaria

DFB manager Christian Wück has announced his squad for the U17 European Championship in Bulgaria (3rd - 23rd May). The 18-man squad is headed up by captain Felix Passlack (Borussia Dortmund). Some of the other experienced players included are Hertha’s Enes Akyol (eleven appearances for the U17s) as well as Niklas Dorsch (Bayern München), Johannes Eggestein (Werder Bremen), Gökhan Gül, Erdinc Karakas and Görkem Saglam (all VfL Bochum), all of whom have made ten previous appearances. 

In the Elite Round, Christian Wück’s team were in a group with Italy, Slovakia and Ukraine and managed to finish top in the standings. "The squad is almost identical to the one used for the European Championship qualifiers at the end of March," remarked Wück. "We’ve only made one change: Joel Abu Hanna has replaced Vitaly Janelt. Joel is a defender and we want to strengthen our back four. We therefore have to sacrifice a defensive midfielder and in this case, it’s Vitaly." 

"The group work well together and know each other very well. They have the advantage of having played together for a year and a half. I would therefore say that our chances of being successful at the European Championship are good," continued the manager. 

Wück: "We want to become European Champions"

The German team are amongst the favourites, not only because of their strong qualifying campaign, to win the European Championship. 16 teams will compete in the tournament for the first time since 2002. In the group stage, Germany will meet Belgium (6th May), Slovenia (9th May) and Czech Republic (12th May). 

In addition to the possibility of being crowned European Champions, the tournament also offers teams the opportunity to qualify for the U17 World Cup in Chile (17th October – 8th November). Germany need to make it through to the semi-finals or win a play-off match against one of the other losing quarter-finalists to secure a World Cup berth. "Our minimum target is securing qualification for the World Cup in Chile," announced Wück. "We therefore need to be amongst the top six sides. Aside from that we obviously want to finish as high as possible in the tournament and ideally, that means becoming European Champions."

Bayern team doctor Müller-Wohlfart quits

Bayern Munich doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt has quit with immediate effect after almost four decades on the job. The Munich-based doctor cited a "damaged relationship of trust" as the reason for his departure.

Bayern Munich's iconic team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, 72, made the announcement for himself and his staff the day after Munich lost a Champions League quarterfinal match 3-1 in Porto.

"After the Champions League game ... the main blame for the defeat was put on the medical department for reasons we don't understand," he said in a press statement sent to various German news agencies on Thursday evening.

Bayern Munich were apparently caught off-guard by the resignation from Müller-Wohlfahrt. "We have not heard about this press release, so we can't comment on it," said Bayern's press boss Markus Hörwick to SID.

Munich have a long injury list featuring the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and David Alaba. The team is currently competing in three competitions at this end of the season. They lead the Bundesliga, and are also still involved in the German Cup (known in Germany as the DFB Pokal) and the UEFA Champions League.

There have been disputes in the past between Müller-Wohlfahrt, and coach Pep Guardiola. The Munich-based doctor will continue to work for Germany's national team.

END OF SEASON RUN-IN BEGINS WITH 'DER KLASSIKER'

The last international break of the current season is over and now the final run-in in the Bundesliga begins. Can Bayern hold on to their position at the top? Who’ll finish in the Europa and Champions League spots? Which teams will be relegated?

The highlight of the weekend’s fixtures is the clash on Saturday (18:30 CEST) between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at Signal-Iduna-Park. Numerous Germany internationals will be in action and the game gives BVB the chance to show just how far they’ve come from the disastrous first half of the season.

Seven games without defeat for BVB

Mats Hummels and co need to take all three points against the current league leaders to keep their hopes of finishing in a Europa League qualifying spot alive. BVB, who are unbeaten in seven games, are five points behind sixth placed FC Augsburg and eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Bayern are currently ten points clear at the top of the table and are closing in on their 25th Bundesliga title. They suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach before the international break and will be hoping to get back on track on Saturday and secure their 21st league victory of the season. FCB triumphed 2-1 when the teams met back in November.

Pep Guardiola faces a real selection headache and it’ll be interesting to see who he chooses to start in midfield now Philipp Lahm is back from injury. Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and Spaniard Xabi Alonso played there previously, but Guardiola could opt to include all three.

Leroy Sané shines for Germany as well as Schalke

Leroy Sané is making a name for himself for club and country

Schalke youth player Leroy Sané is making a name for himself after another strong performance. He managed two goals and an assist during the Germany U19s 6-0 win against the Czech Republic to seal qualification to the summer’s European Championships. Schalke’s promising young star continues to establish himself as a leading player in the German youth set up. 

“I’m really proud of the team”, said Germany manager Marcus Sorg – and a large part of that pride could deservingly be directed at Sané. The 19-year old has really shown off his potential during the second half of the season. In his first Champions League appearance against Real Madrid in March, he beat legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas with a delightful curling shot from outside the box and just four days later he shone during his full Bundesliga debut, scoring a lovely chipped goal against Hertha BSC. 

Even Sanés father is impressed

Sané’s performances have even surprised his own father. Souleymane Sané, who himself made 174 appearances in the German top-flight, was speechless after his son’s sensational goal against Real Madrid. You wouldn’t have seen him score a goal like that when he played, reflects “Sammy” Sané in an interview with 11 Freunde: “Look back at old footage of me. I never scored from such distance; I wouldn’t have been able to!” 

For Leroy Sané, whose mother Regina Weber won 32 German championships in rhythmic gymnastics, family are an important support structure. The Essen born striker has his roots in the Ruhr Valley and his colour is royal blue. His brothers Kim (U23) and Sidi (U12) also wear the Schalke jersey. 

For Schalke, the young talent has made himself a genuine contender for a place in Roberto Di Matteo’s starting XI, and an early substitution, like against Bayer Leverkusen on the last matchday, doesn’t change that fact. “I know that that wasn’t a breakthrough for me. I definitely need to get stuck in more, use my body strength better and be tougher. These things are required more in the Bundesliga than in the youth league”, said Sané self-critically. Should he manage this, his rise to stardom will continue even further.