Manuel Neuer ready to fight for No 1 spot for Germany, Bayern Munich

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Bengaluru, May 1: Germany goalkeeper Manual Neuer had his first full training session last Friday at Bayern Munich’s Sabener Strasse training complex after a six-month-long layoff. The big German has suffered three fractures to his foot that have kept him on the sidelines. He had been restricted to jogging and mild weight training in the last few weeks.

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Neuer missed the last five games of 2016/17 season and played only three opening games of the current season, his last appearance dating back to September 2017. The Bayern and Germany captain said that the early months of his recovery were very tough and that he felt at times that his body was betraying him. The goalkeeper even visited Phuket in Thailand to cool off and speed up his recovery. He also said that he was very grateful to his club for being patient and giving him all the time and resources he needed to bounce back from the toughest injury in his professional career.

Meanwhile, in his absence, Sven Ulreich has shined as an able deputy, with Jupp Heynckes claiming that Ulreich is the second best goalkeeper in Germany, behind Neuer of course. Ulreich’s saves and quality distribution have been crucial as the Bavarian club marched towards their sixth straight Bundesliga title this season.

Neuer understands that he cannot retake his No 1 position just by regaining match fitness and that his performance in training sesions will be very important. The 32-year-old wants to feature for the club again this season and was confident of that as Bayern are still involved in the Champions league and Dfb Pokal (German Cup). He surely would want to feature in Champions league final in Kiev if Bayern reach there.

The major target for Neuer though is be to able to regain his agility and sharpness before the Germany national team starts preparing for Russia World Cup 2018. Being the captain, the ex-Schalke man will like to lead from the front and his sweeping skill could be vital to the way Joachim Loew will set his team up. The German's hopes will be clinging on the twice Ballon d’or nominee to emulate the 2014 World Cup success on world football’s biggest stage for the second time running.