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Leverkusen coach Alonso upbeat that Wirtz will be ready for finals

dpa
·1 min read
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso gestures on the touchline during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Bochum and Bayer Leverkusen at Vonovia Ruhrstadion. David Inderlied/dpa

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso is not concerned about Florian Wirtz' thigh muscle problems and expects him to be fully fit for next week's Europa League and German Cup finals.

German international Wirtz, 21, was not part of the squad for Sunday's Bundesliga match against Bochum where Leverkusen stretched their season-long unbeaten run in all competitions to 50 matches with a 5-0 victory.

"There is no reason to be pessimistic. We have a plan with Flo. If things go well he will be back in training on Wednesday or Thursday," Alonso said.

Alonso hopes that Wirtz can play a few minutes in Saturday's Bundesliga finale against Augsburg to be ready for the May 22 Europa League final in Dublin against Italy's Atalanta, and the German Cup final three days later in Berlin against second tier Kaiserslautern.

Long-crowned champions Leverkusen will be the first team to go unbeaten in a Bundesliga season if they avoid defeat against Augsburg.

And they can become the first European team to achieve an unbeaten season domestically and in Europe since continental competitions started in the mid-1950s.