Bayern Munich has been boosted by the return to first-team training of key midfielder Thiago Alcantara following a three week injury lay-off.
The 25-year-old picked up a hamstring strain during the club's winter training camp in Doha at the turn of the year, but the German giants' official website revealed that Thiago had been given the green ligh to begin his return to full training on Wednesday.
Thiago was seen training alone on Tuesday ahead of a potential comeback and, after the centre midfielder had successfully navigated the drills handed to him by the club's medical staff, was allowed to join in with his Bayern team-mates for warm-up sessions 24 hours later.
Guess who is back playing âš½ with the team?
Check out @Thiago6 first day back training with the team here ➡�� https://t.co/EPrHzNSSBi pic.twitter.com/Xj4HAhVv8h
The Spain international was joined by club captain Philiipp Lahm, who had missed Tuesday's session after he attended the funeral of former President of Germany Roman Herzog, a founding and honorary member of the full-back's charitable foundation, who passed away on January 10.
Thiago's return to the first-team fold is a timely one for the Bundesliga champion's manager Carlo Ancelotti, who will be delighted to welcome back his midfielf ace ahead of some key upcoming matches.
Bayern will look to extend their three-point lead at the top of Germany's top flight against Werder Bremen, Schalke and Ingolstadt in the coming weeks, while Ancelotti's men also face Wolfsburg in the DFB-Pokal Cup on Tuesday February 7.
The crunch Champions League last-16 clash with Arsenal is also on the horizon, with the visit of Arsene Wenger's Gunners pencilled in for Wednesday 15 Feburary.
Thiago has made 22 appearances in all competitions for Bayern so far this term, notching three goals and four assists along the way, and should be expected to take his place in the starting lineup for the match against Arsenal providing he suffers no recurrence of his latest injury.
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