Despite his injury problems, World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger is not concerned about missing out on EURO 2016 in France, which will take place from 10th June to 10th July. "Assuming the European Championship doesn't suddenly get moved forward to the beginning of March, things are looking good for me," said the Germany captain to Bild. He added that he has given "absolutely no thought" to it.
The Manchester United midfielder picked up a knee injury in an FA Cup tie in January, and his recovery is going according to plan: "It takes time but it's healing just fine. I know my body and I know everything will sort itself out." He's still not quite ready to return to the pitch. "I'll be able to start running again in five days or so and I'll be able to start playing with the ball about five days after that," said the 31-year-old. "I think I'll be fully fit again in March." Schweinsteiger cannot comprehend the question of whether or not he's still good enough for the national team: "I've played 27 competitive games this season despite suspensions and injuries. It could have been better, but the proposition is unreasonable."
Löw: "Bastian's full focus is on the European Championship"
The captain has ample support from the manager of the national team. "I'm in constant contact with Bastian Schweinsteiger and I'm not worried about his current injury," said Joachim Löw. "It's generally good for players to let their injuries heal fully. If they come back too quickly, there's always the risk of suffering a reoccurrence. I know that Bastian's full focus is on the European Championship and I absolutely trust that he'll do all he can to be ready. We're planning with him in mind."
Oliver Bierhoff also believes in Bastian Schweinsteiger: "It's a fact that this season hasn't gone so well for Bastian so far," said the national team general manager. "It obviously takes time to get used to the Premier League and to gain the right level of fitness. He wasn't quite there after his injury but I'm convinced that he's fit after returning from holiday and will soon be getting minutes on the pitch."
Looking ahead to the summer tournament in France, Bierhoff sees Schweinsteiger's situation as "not so problematic. I’m assuming that he'll go to the European Championship. He's an important part of our team and we've seen in the past that you can rely on players with a lot of experience even if they haven't played 90 minutes in every game in the months leading up to the tournament." He touched on a prominent example: "We had a similar situation with Sami Khedira, who was injured for a long time before the World Cup and didn't play much but still made the trip to Brazil. There's a lot of competition for Bastian's position, which we saw at the World Cup. In the end, it's dependent on him."
Despite his injury problems, World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger is not concerned about missing out on EURO 2016 in France, which will take place from 10th June to 10th July. "Assuming the European Championship doesn't suddenly get moved forward to the beginning of March, things are looking good for me," said the Germany captain to Bild. He added that he has given "absolutely no thought" to it.
The Manchester United midfielder picked up a knee injury in an FA Cup tie in January, and his recovery is going according to plan: "It takes time but it's healing just fine. I know my body and I know everything will sort itself out." He's still not quite ready to return to the pitch. "I'll be able to start running again in five days or so and I'll be able to start playing with the ball about five days after that," said the 31-year-old. "I think I'll be fully fit again in March." Schweinsteiger cannot comprehend the question of whether or not he's still good enough for the national team: "I've played 27 competitive games this season despite suspensions and injuries. It could have been better, but the proposition is unreasonable."
Löw: "Bastian's full focus is on the European Championship"
The captain has ample support from the manager of the national team. "I'm in constant contact with Bastian Schweinsteiger and I'm not worried about his current injury," said Joachim Löw. "It's generally good for players to let their injuries heal fully. If they come back too quickly, there's always the risk of suffering a reoccurrence. I know that Bastian's full focus is on the European Championship and I absolutely trust that he'll do all he can to be ready. We're planning with him in mind."
Oliver Bierhoff also believes in Bastian Schweinsteiger: "It's a fact that this season hasn't gone so well for Bastian so far," said the national team general manager. "It obviously takes time to get used to the Premier League and to gain the right level of fitness. He wasn't quite there after his injury but I'm convinced that he's fit after returning from holiday and will soon be getting minutes on the pitch."
Looking ahead to the summer tournament in France, Bierhoff sees Schweinsteiger's situation as "not so problematic. I’m assuming that he'll go to the European Championship. He's an important part of our team and we've seen in the past that you can rely on players with a lot of experience even if they haven't played 90 minutes in every game in the months leading up to the tournament." He touched on a prominent example: "We had a similar situation with Sami Khedira, who was injured for a long time before the World Cup and didn't play much but still made the trip to Brazil. There's a lot of competition for Bastian's position, which we saw at the World Cup. In the end, it's dependent on him."
