Ribery out for weeks
MUNICH - France midfielder Franck Ribery is expected to be sidelined for a further three weeks with a thigh injury.
The right-winger was injured during Bayern Munich's Bundesliga clash with Hansa Rostock at the start of the month.
It forced him to miss France's recent friendly against Spain in Malaga but he was expected to be back in action soon after.
It appears the complaint is more serious than first thought. He is now set to miss the rest of February, including the return leg of Bayern's UEFA Cup last-32 tie against Aberdeen.
Bayern boss will not underestimate Aberdeen
ABERDEEN - Bayern Munich boss Ottmar Hitzfeld insists he knows too much about Scottish football to underestimate Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Thursday.
Hitzfeld signed Paul Lambert and former Aberdeen striker Scott Booth for Borussia Dortmund and still rates them among his favourite players.
Lambert impressed Hitzfeld so much while playing for Motherwell against Dortmund in the 1994 UEFA Cup that he later snapped him up and the pair won Champions League winners' medals in 1997.
And the German's first-hand experience of Scottish commitment means he will not write off the Dons in the first leg of their UEFA Cup last-32 clash.
"They were two of my favourite players," Hitzfeld said. "They were fully committed and focused, they played with all their heart."
The Dons shipped nine goals last week against Dundee United and Celtic, but Hitzfeld, who on Wednesday lost veteran goalkeeper Oliver Kahn to illness, has not forgotten Aberdeen's 4-0 win over Copenhagen in December.
"They have lost their last two games but experience tells me that when you underestimate a team they can come back and surprise you," he said.
"Look what happened against Copenhagen - Aberdeen were absolutely excellent. I think some players had this game on their mind when they played Celtic."
Michael Rensing is expected to recover from a minor back problem to replace Kahn, while Bayern will also be without Franck Ribery, Marc van Bommel, Willy Sagnol and Daniel van Buyten.
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood has urged his players to create their own piece of history by upsetting the odds against Bayern.
Sir Alex Ferguson led the Dons to a famous win over the Bundesliga giants on their way to their 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup success.
And this season's run in Europe has given Calderwood hope of another famous result.
"Wherever you look here you see the history of the great times under Sir Alex," Calderwood said. "I was at Dunfermline and saw photos of Jock Stein everywhere. I should pick an easier one next time.
"You never match the achievements but you always try to make your own bit of history. If we can draw with Bayern, or even beat Bayern, then we can make a bit of our own."
Aberdeen have been boosted with the news injury doubts Zander Diamond, Darren Mackie, Barry Nicholson and Andrew Considine are available.
Derek Young, Jackie McNamara, Jamie Smith, Richard Foster and Richie Byrne are still all out, though.
Calderwood said: "We are still missing five big players for us but getting those players back was massive.
"It was always going to be very, very difficult but without nine first-team players nigh on impossible. But they are fit and it brings everyone else up."
After his preparations in the early part of the week were badly affected by the number of injuries, Calderwood now has to fine-tune his plan to stop Bayern.
"That's the million dollar question," he said. "They are a fabulous side with about 1,000 caps between them for different international teams - Germany, Holland, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil.
"They are probably the favourites to win the tournament but big teams have lost in the past - good teams have off days."
